Sarah Palin is taking heat from veterans for seeming to point the
finger at President Obama over mental issues her son may be dealing with
following his Iraq war service.
Her son Track was arrested earlier this week on
domestic violence charges, and Palin publicly addressed the case
Wednesday during a post-endorsement appearance on the campaign trail for
Donald Trump. She appeared to link his alleged behavior to
post-traumatic stress disorder – and used it to criticize Obama’s
veteran policies.
But Paul Rieckhoff, the head of Iraq and Afghanistan
Veterans of America (IAVA), criticized the former Alaska governor’s
comments Wednesday night.
He tweeted: “We need more programs and less politics to battle PTSD.”
Speaking with NBC News, he also said, “"It's not President Obama's fault that Sarah Palin's son has PTSD.”
He called PTSD a “very serious problem” and reportedly urged Palin not to “politicize” it.
"I hope this doesn't become a portable chew toy in a political campaign," he said, according to NBC News.
The comments touched off a Twitter exchange with
other military servicemembers concerned about Palin’s remarks. One, who
identified as a retired Army veteran, said her comments could cause
“perceptual problems & future treatment issues” for those diagnosed
with PTSD.
Palin addressed the “elephant in the room” – her
son’s arrest – at her first stop on the campaign trail for Trump after
endorsing him Tuesday.
“My son, like so many others, they come back a bit
different,” she said in Tulsa, Okla. “They come back hardened. They come
back wondering if there is that respect for what it is that their
fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military have
sacrificially given to this country and that starts at the top.”
Palin said military members look at Obama and
question whether he knows the sacrifices they make to “secure America
and to secure freedoms.”
“So when my own son is going through what he is going
through coming back, I can certainly relate with other families who
kinda feel these ramifications of some PTSD,” she said.
Track, a 26-year-old Iraq veteran, was arraigned
Tuesday on charges of domestic violence assault, interfering with a
report of domestic violence crime and possession of a firearm while
intoxicated.
According to the police affidavit posted by KTVA-TV,
officers were called to the residence Monday night following two 911
calls – the first from Track’s girlfriend and the second from him.
The woman claimed Track had “punched her in the face and that a firearm was involved,” according to police records.
The charges against Track were filed the same day
Palin appeared at an Ames, Iowa, rally to endorse Trump, the current GOP
frontrunner.