President Donald Trump pauses during a Christmas Eve video teleconference with members of the military at his Mar-a-Lago estate in Palm Beach, Fla., Tuesday, Dec. 24, 2019. The CBC is defending itself after U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son shared criticism of the public broadcaster for airing a version of "Home Alone 2" without his father's cameo.
Image Credit: THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, Andrew Harnik
December 27, 2019 - 8:00 AM
TORONTO - The CBC is defending itself after U.S. President Donald Trump's eldest son shared criticism of the public broadcaster for airing a version of "Home Alone 2" without his father's cameo.
A spokesman for the CBC says the now-president's "short scene" was cut for time when the broadcaster acquired rights to the film in 2014 — before Trump was elected.
The CBC released its statement after Donald Trump Jr. tweeted an article accusing the broadcaster of bias.
News of the truncated, Trump-less version of "Home Alone 2: Lost in New York" was also picked up Thursday by Fox News and other right-wing American media outlets.
CBC spokesman Chuck Thompson says Trump's scene was one of several cut from the 1992 holiday film to tighten its running time.
He says this is often done when a feature film is adapted for TV.
The U.S. president, himself, retweeted versions of the story on Thursday afternoon.
"The movie will never be the same! (just kidding)," Trump said along with one of the tweets.
In a comment with another tweet, Trump suggested that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau "doesn't much like my making him pay up on NATO or Trade!" — referring to recent negotiations for a new North American trade deal, and the president's efforts to pressure NATO members like Canada to increase defence spending.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Dec. 26, 2019.
News from © The Canadian Press, 2019