Bernie Sanders slams Donald Trump in discussion of Brussels attacks

Speaking to Jimmy Kimmel on Tuesday’s episode of Jimmy Kimmel Live, Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders criticized Donald Trump for his response to the terror attacks in Brussels on Tuesday morning that left at least 31 people dead and more than 230 injured.

Acknowledging that “we have to protect our own nation,” Sanders slammed Trump for his previous comments calling for a “total and complete shutdown of Muslims entering the United States.”

“But at the end of the day, we can’t allow the Trumps of the world to use these incidents to attack all the Muslim people in the world. That is unfair,” Sanders told Kimmel. “To imply that because somebody is a Muslim, they’re a terrorist, that is an outrageous statement — equally so when he talks about Mexicans coming over the border as rapists or criminals. That is not what this country is about. We don’t need, in my view, a candidate for president hurling these types of insults.”

Following the Brussels attacks, for which ISIS claimed responsibility, Trump said future attacks could happen in America. “I’m a pretty good prognosticator. Just watch what happens over the years, it won’t be pretty. We’re going to get worse and worse. At this point, we cannot allow these people to come into this country, I’m sorry.”

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During his interview with Kimmel, Sanders was asked if he would be prepared to drop a bomb on “a house that might contain innocent people” because “when you’re fighting terrorism, that happens.”

“I hope nobody ever drops a bomb on a house containing innocent [people],” Sanders said. He added, “Obviously if I were elected President of the United States, I would use the military forces of our country in an effective and appropriate way. That’s what a president does. I think, as someone who voted against the war in Iraq, we have to be careful about how we use military force. Because sometimes we don’t see the unintended consequence. Saddam Hussein was a terrible dictator. But I kind of had a feeling: you get rid of him, you create a political vacuum, bad things happen. But there are times when you have to use force, and I certainly would be prepared to do that.”

Watch the exchange below.