The Wrong — and the Right — Responses to the Brussels Terror Attacks From Presidential Candidates

After ISIS carried out attacks that tore through Brussels on Tuesday morning, the five remaining presidential candidates spoke out about the tragedy. Their responses varied greatly and exemplified the right and wrong ways to handle such a complex situation.

"We need to immediately halt the flow of refugees from countries with a significant al Qaida or ISIS presence," said GOP candidate Ted Cruz in a statement released by his campaign. "We need to empower law enforcement to patrol and secure Muslim neighborhoods before they become radicalized."

He blamed political correctness and fear for the attacks and added, "Our European allies are now seeing what comes of a toxic mix of migrants who have been infiltrated by terrorists and isolated, radical Muslim neighborhoods."

Many Muslim groups were upset by his suggestion to patrol Muslim neighborhoods and likened it to what happened in Nazi Germany, according to The New York Times. They called him a "religious zealot" with little regard for civil liberties.

Cruz had more to say in a Facebook post.

Someone please tell Cruz that patrolling neighborhoods of a particular religious group goes not only against their civil liberties but everything the US stands for.

Unsurprisingly, Donald Trump jumped on the moment to promote his campaign on Twitter.

"Brussels was a beautiful city, a beautiful place with zero crime. And now it's a disaster city," he said in a Fox interview. "It's a total disaster, and we have to be very careful in the United States, we have to be very careful and very vigilant as to who we allow in this country. "

The man who has previously called for a ban on Muslims in the US also said he "would do a lot more than waterboarding" to get information about planned attacks from captured terrorists.

Someone please tell Trump that calling a place that's just been attacked a "disaster city" is as ridiculous as his debate performances and that waterboarding is illegal for a reason.

Now, compare Cruz and Trump's reactions to how John Kasich and the Democratic candidates responded.

Kasich released a statement on Twitter and also said singling out Muslims was wrong because it would unfairly target innocent people.

Hillary Clinton rebuked the terrorists but said on the Today show, "It's unrealistic to say we're going to completely shut down our borders to everyone." She added, "We've got to work this through consistent with our values."

And Bernie Sanders? He too offered condolences and stressed improved intelligence to fight terrorists but said monitoring Muslims following the attacks would be unconstitutional and wrong. "We are fighting a terrorist organization, a barbaric organization that is killing innocent people. We are not fighting a religion," he told reporters.

Someone please tell Kasich, Clinton, and Sanders that vowing to defeat terrorism while preserving the dignity of Muslims is an exemplary response from anyone who hopes to be the next president.