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CBC edit of Trump scene from Home Alone 2 was done in 2014

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Broadcaster responds Thursday to complaints that edit was politically motivated

A scene featuring Donald Trump was one of several cut from CBC TV's broadcast of the movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York. A total of eight minutes was cut from the film in 2014 to make way for commercials, the network said Thursday. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

CBC confirmed Thursday it deleted a scene featuring Donald Trump from the movie Home Alone 2: Lost in New York, but the broadcaster says the cut occurred before he became president and was not politically motivated.

Several media outlets reported Trump's cameo in the 1992 movie was edited out of the CBC TV broadcast of the movie earlier this month.

In the uncut version, Trump appears for some seven seconds in a scene set at the Plaza Hotel in New York, when Macauley Culkin's character Kevin McCallister asks him for directions to the lobby.

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The current criticism appears to have originated from a report on Comicbook.com after complaints began circulating on social media following the recent broadcast.

Supporters of Trump, including his son Donald Trump Jr., reacted angrily, believing the move by the public broadcaster was politically motivated.

CBC spokesperson Chuck Thompson confirmed Thursday that Trump's scene and others were cut from the film five years ago to make way for commercials.

"As is often the case with feature films adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited for time," Thompson said. "The scene with Donald Trump was one of several that were cut from the movie as none of them were integral to the plot. These edits were done in 2014, when we first acquired the film and before Mr. Trump was elected president."

Thompson said a total of eight minutes was trimmed from the film. He said it was too early to decide whether CBC would air the movie again next holiday season, and whether or not Trump's scene would be added back in if it does.

Trump announced in June 2015 that he would run for the presidency, and was elected in November 2016.