On March 22, five terrorists attacked Brussels, Belgium, killing 31 people and injuring 270. Out of the five terrorists, three were killed and two remain unidentified, as of March 24. According to CNN, the five terrorists, who have claimed their association with ISIS, set off two explosions at the city’s main airport and a third explosion at a subway station.
The remaining presidential candidates ― Bernie Sanders, Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump, John Kasich and Ted Cruz ― made the following statements about the attacks.
- “It’s unrealistic to say we’re going to completely shut down our borders to everyone. That would stop commerce, for example, and that’s not in anybody’s interest. This is a time for us to reaffirm our solidarity with our European friends and allies, individually, and through NATO. Our country’s most experienced and bravest military leaders will tell you that torture is not effective. It does put our own soldiers and, increasingly, our civilians at risk. They don’t need to resort to torture.” ― Hillary Clinton, in an interview with TODAY on March 22
- “It’s probably why I’m number one in the polls. We have to have strong borders, we have to be very vigilant and careful of who we allow into our country. Uh, I know Brussels well, and Brussels is a total mess. I would be very, very tough on the borders and not allow certain people into this country without absolute perfect documentation.” ― Donald Trump, in an interview with TODAY on March 22
- “I think people get afraid, and for good reasons. ISIS is a disgusting, barbaric organization. We’ve seen what they’ve done in Paris, what they’ve done in Brussels. People are afraid of an attack in the U.S., but I think what we have to understand is we’re not going to undermine the Constitution of the United States of America in order to effectively destroy ISIS. At the end of the day, we cannot allow the Trumps of the world to use these incidents to attack all of the Muslim people in the world. That is unfair. To imply that if somebody is a Muslim, they’re a terrorist, that is an outrageous statement.” — Bernie Sanders, in an interview with Jimmy Kimmel on March 22
- “The wave of terror that has been unleashed in Europe and elsewhere around the world are attacks against our very way of life and against the democratic values upon which our political systems have been built. We and all our allies must rededicate ourselves to these values of freedom and human rights. We must strengthen our alliances as our way of life and the international system that has been built on our common values since the end of the Second World War comes under challenge from these and other actors of evil.” ― John Kasich, in a statement released on March 22
- “Make no mistake ― these terror attacks are no isolated incidents. They are just the latest in a string of coordinated attacks by radical Islamic terrorists perpetrated by those who are waging war against all who do not accept their extreme strain of Islam. Radical Islam is at war with us. For over seven years we have had a president who refuses to acknowledge this reality. And the truth is, we can never hope to defeat this evil so long as we refuse to even name it. That ends on January 20, 2017, when I am sworn in as president. We will name our enemy ― radical Islamic terrorism. And we will defeat it.” ― Ted Cruz, in a statement released on March 22
