Fact Check

Donald Trump Buys Children

A comedy sketch featuring Donald Trump "buying" two children was shared as a real news story from CNN.

Published Oct. 20, 2016

 (FLICKR)
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Claim:
A video report from CNN shows Donald Trump purchasing a car and two children.

On 18 October 2016, a video was posted to YouTube that purportedly showed a CNN report about Donald Trump purchasing a car — and two children:


This video never aired on CNN, and Donald Trump did not purchase these children (or, presumably, any other).  The original video has been circulating since at least August 2015, and featured Trump in a comedy skit. While we have not been able to identify the exact source of this video, audience laughter can be heard at several points, indicating that this was a sketch on a Saturday Night Live type of show:


It's also false that CNN aired the video as an actual news story. The big giveaway here is that the "CNN" video uses audio from an unrelated story. The "bombshell" mentioned by the off-screen reporter wasn't Trump's alleged purchase of two children, but video of Trump making lewd remarks about women to Billy Bush, who at the time was a host on "Access Hollywood":

If Trump (or anybody else) were to purchase children, it is extremely unlikely that the process would be accompanied by a laugh track.

Dan Evon is a former writer for Snopes.