DONALD TRUMP has broken his broken his silence following his departure from the White House to defend his cameo appearance in Home Alone 2: Lost In New York.
The former US President may be facing an unprecedented second impeachment trial and the very real threat of being barred from running for office again but his priorities appear to be elsewhere.
In a letter announcing his resignation from the Screen Actors Guild - American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG – AFTRA) – a Hollywood-based trade union – Trump reflected on his not-so-celebrated career as an “actor”.
The ex-President took particular pride in his performance in Home Alone 2 as well as noted appearances in The Fresh Prince of Bel Air, Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps and Zoolander.
It comes amid reports bosses at the SAG – AFTRA had been discussing his potential expulsion from the union in the wake of the US Capitol riots on January 6.
Trump had been due to face a disciplinary hearing from the Union.
However, the Donald appears to have beaten SAG – AFTRA to the punch with his written request to leave the union.
The letter begins: "I write to you today regarding the so-called Disciplinary Committee hearing aimed at revoking my union membership. Who cares!
"While I’m not familiar with your work, I’m very proud of my work on movies such as Home Alone 2, Zoolander and Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps; and television shows including The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air, Saturday Night Live, and of course, one of the most successful shows in television history, The Apprentice—to name just a few!"
Trump goes on to claim he has “greatly helped the cable news business” noting a boost in ratings for CNN and MSNBC during his time in office.
He then accuses SAG – AFTRA of formulating plans to oust him as part of a “blatant attempt at free media attention” designed to distract from their “dismal record as a union.”
"Your organization has done little for its members, and nothing for me—besides collecting dues and promoting dangerous un-American policies and ideas—as evident by your massive unemployment rates and lawsuits from celebrated actors, who even recorded a video asking, ‘Why isn’t the union fighting for me?’"
The video Trump references was one shared by actors like Mark Hamill and Whoopi Goldberg last year after it emerged at the union had cut member health benefits.
Trump signed off on the letter by formally resigning from the union.
"I no longer wish to be associated with your union," he writes.
"As such, this letter is to inform you of my immediate resigning from SAG-AFTRA."
The letter was shared with Fox News and posted on embossed paper with a crest and stamp confirming it was from “The Office of Donald J Trump.”
It marks the first time Trump has issued a formal statement of any kind since leaving the White House on January 20.
Trump’s resignation has been accepted by SAG-AFTRA.
The comments regarding his appearance in Home Alone 2 come just weeks after the film’s main star, Macaulay Culkin, joined the growing number of voices calling for Trump’s brief cameo to be removed from the film.
According to the film’s director, Chris Columbus, Trump bullied his way onto the film as part of a deal thar saw his famous Plaza Hotel feature in the movie.
