--- title: Presidential Candidates React to Brussels Attacks description: U.S. presidential hopefuls on Tuesday condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels but differed in their approach to fighting ISIS. canonical: https://time.com/4268544/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates-clinton-trump/ author: Melissa Chan article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-03-22T21:39:42.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-03-31T09:23:56.246Z article:section: Politics og:title: Watch U.S. Presidential Candidates React to Brussels Attacks og:description: They had different approaches to fighting terrorism og:url: https://time.com/4268544/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates-clinton-trump/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f1e9c72cd7d2051/69888c25524fc0ddb1df74cd/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Brussels Airport And Metro Rocked By Explosions og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Watch U.S. Presidential Candidates React to Brussels Attacks twitter:description: They had different approaches to fighting terrorism twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f1e9c72cd7d2051/69888c25524fc0ddb1df74cd/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Watch U.S. Presidential Candidates React to Brussels Attacks  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Mar 22, 2016 9:39 PM UTC  People light candles at the Place de la Bourse following attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium. People light candles at the Place de la Bourse following attacks on March 22, 2016 in Brussels, Belgium.Carl Court—Getty Images  by [Melissa Chan](https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/)  ## Melissa Chan Mar 22, 2016 9:39 PM UTC U.S. presidential hopefuls on Tuesday [condemned the terrorist attacks in Brussels](http://time.com/4267339/brussels-terrorist-attacks-latest/?xid=homepage) but differed in their approach to fighting ISIS. Both Republican and Democratic candidates issued statements after the coordinated attacks in the Belgian capital that left 31 people dead and more than 100 others wounded. [Hillary Clinton](http://www.mediaite.com/online/hillary-clinton-talks-brussels-on-today-we-have-to-intensify-our-efforts-to-stop-terrorism/) called the “sophisticated” bombings “deeply distressing,” while urging Americans to stand in solidarity with Europeans. “We have to intensify our efforts to find and prevent terrorists from ever doing this again,” she said during an appearance on NBC’s _Today_ show. “It’s going to be a long challenge because of many factors including the easy accessibility to powerful explosives and the mobility of terrorists but we’ve got to be absolutely strong and smart and steady in how we respond.” Republican frontrunner [Donald Trump](https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/712343435387260928) said the U.S. “must be vigilant and smart” in one of many tweets after the tragedy. “Do you all remember how beautiful and safe a place Brussels was,” he wrote. “Not anymore, it is from a different world!” “This madness must be stopped, and I will stop it,” he said in another tweet. Watch the other candidates’ reactions above. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4268544/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates-clinton-trump/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4268544/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates-clinton-trump/"},"headline":"Watch U.S. Presidential Candidates React to Brussels Attacks","datePublished":"2016-03-22T21:39:42.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-31T09:23:56.246Z","description":"They had different approaches to fighting terrorism","url":"https://time.com/4268544/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates-clinton-trump/","keywords":["2016 Election","2016 Election topic"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f1e9c72cd7d2051/69888c25524fc0ddb1df74cd/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Melissa Chan","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/melissa-chan/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt5f1e9c72cd7d2051/69888c25524fc0ddb1df74cd/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Brussels Airport And Metro Rocked By Explosions","caption":"Brussels Airport And Metro Rocked By Explosions","creditText":"Carl Court—Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2016-election/","name":"2016 Election"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4268544/brussels-attacks-presidential-candidates-clinton-trump/","name":"Watch U.S. Presidential Candidates React to Brussels Attacks"}}]}] ```