Donald Trump in Home Alone 2. Photo: 20th Century Fox/Youtube

Canadians watching Home Alone 2: Lost in New York on the CBC Wednesday were treated to an expected gift from the broadcaster — a reprieve from watching Donald Trump’s cameo in the 1992 movie.

After complaints began surfacing on social media, the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation confirmed to ComicBook.com that Trump had been cut from the film. But the company said the decision was made “for commercial time,” not because it hates Trump. “As is often the case with features adapted for television, Home Alone 2 was edited to allow for commercial time within the format,” the CBC told the site.

In a tweet on Thursday, the broadcaster elaborated with a spokesperson saying the cut, along with several others, had been made in 2014. “These edits were done in 2014 when we first acquired the film and before Mr. Trump was elected president,” the spokesperson said.

CBC responds to criticism that short scene featuring Donald Trump was deleted from movie Home Alone 2, which aired recently. Spokesperson says 'several' cuts made for time. 'These edits were done in 2014 when we first acquired the film and before Mr. Trump was elected president.' — CBC News Alerts (@CBCAlerts) December 26, 2019

While Trump hasn’t tweeted about the slight, it’s probably coming: Fox News and other corridors of the right-wing echo chamber are buzzing with the news. Trump’s son Don Jr. tweeted an article calling the edit “pathetic.”

The subject also came up on Fox & Friends on Thursday. Conservative commentator Mark Steyn said the CBC had cut Trump because it didn’t want viewers to see that Trump is not actually evil. “That’s who Donald Trump was before he was the new Hitler,” Steyn said. “I think they’re terrified of these little things that will remind people just how deranged his opponents are.”

The movie came up earlier this week when Trump made Christmas Eve video calls to military units around the world. Asked by one soldier about the cameo, Trump said people often bring it up to him at this time of year.

“It turned out to be a very big hit,” he added. “Obviously, it’s a big Christmas hit, one of the biggest, so it’s an honor to be involved in something like that. You always like to see success.”