Bernie Sanders talks Brussels attack, Donald Trump, and bombing civilians with Jimmy Kimmel

Bernie Sanders talks about the Brussels attack with Jimmy Kimmel

(Image credit: Jimmy Kimmel Live)

Sen. Bernie Sanders was Jimmy Kimmel's guest on Tuesday's Kimmel Live, and Kimmel of course asked him about the terrorist attacks in Belgium earlier in the day. When the U.S. or its allies are attacked, he said, "it seems that Americans gravitate toward the candidate who talks the toughest — in this case, I think Donald Trump, after the attacks in Paris, his popularity shot up. Why do you think that is?"

Sanders took a whack: "I think people get afraid, and for good reason. 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 United States." But you don't have to "undermine the Constitution of the United States of America in order to effectively destroy ISIS," he added. Sanders listed off some things the U.S. is doing to fight ISIS, then said: "But 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 because somebody is a Muslim they're a terrorist, that is an outrageous statement."

Kimmel then seemed to pay Sanders a compliment, saying he could imagine President Trump dropping a bomb on a house with innocent civilians inside, but he couldn't imagine Sanders doing the same. "Would you be prepared to do that?" Kimmel asked. Sanders started out saying he hoped "nobody ever dropped a bomb on a house containing innocents," then conceded that when you fight terrorism, that kind of thing happens. "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," he said. "That's what a president does." After noting that he voted against the Iraq War, in part because of the "unintended consequences," he said "there are times when you do have to use force, and I certainly would be prepared to do that." Watch. Peter Weber

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Peter has worked as a news and culture writer and editor at The Week since the site's launch in 2008. He covers politics, world affairs, religion and cultural currents. His journalism career began as a copy editor at a financial newswire and has included editorial positions at The New York Times Magazine, Facts on File, and Oregon State University.