Veterans are urging Sarah Palin not to blame Pres. Obama for her son’s domestic violence arrest.
Tea Party favorite Sarah Palin’s 26-year-old son, Track, was arrested on Tuesday and charged with domestic violence and possessing a firearm while intoxicated.
Later on Tuesday during her endorsement speech for Republican presidential hopeful Donald Trump, Palin went off script to expose what she called “the elephant in the room.”
“My son, like so many others, they come back a bit different. They come back hardened, they come back wondering if there’s that respect for what it is their fellow soldiers and airmen and every other member of the military have so sacrificially given to this country,” she told the audience speaking of Track, a combat veteran who served in Iraq. She continued, stating that she could “relate with other families who can feel these ramifications of PTSD and some of the woundedness (sic) our soldiers do return with.”
Palin went on to criticize the Obama administration’s treatment of veterans, implying that the president had something to do with her son’s situation. “It starts from the top, the question, though, that comes from our own president, where they have to look at him and wonder, ‘Do you know what we have to go through?’” she stated.
On Wednesday, Paul Rieckhoff, who heads Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), spoke out against Palin’s claim telling NBC News that: “PTSD is a very serious problem, a complicated mental health injury; and I would be extremely reluctant to blame any one person in particular.”
Rieckhoff continued, stating that: “it’s important to recognize that Track may need help like many veterans,” noting that Palin is in the unique position of being able to use her notoriety to help him and other veterans suffering from PTSD.
“This is a great opportunity for Sarah Palin to sound the alarm about PTSD,” he said, adding: “Now that she has endorsed Mr. Trump, I would encourage her to talk with him about it. Mr. Trump’s campaign is pretty light on specifics about what he would do for veterans.”
Rieckhoff also urged Palin to “resist the urge to politicize” PTSD, stating: “I hope this doesn’t become a portable chew toy in a political campaign.”
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