The last 48 hours for the Palin family hasn't gone according to plan. Just hours after announcing her endorsement of Donald Trump for president, news broke that a close family member was in legal trouble.
As the media reacted to Palin's endorsement, and incident occurred in the small town of Wasilla, Alaska. An arrest was made on Monday night by the Wasilla Police Department and charges were filed against a 26-year-old male for possession of a weapon while intoxicated, and domestic violence against the female. The story broke on Jan. 19 and the man in question was Track Palin, the son of Sarah Palin.
Palin's response
During a campaign rally for Donald Trump in Tulsa, Oklahoma on Wednesday, Palin spoke about what she described as the "elephant in the room." Addressing her son's recent arrest and charges of assaulting his girlfriend, Palin quickly deflected the situation back to his time as a member of the military. "A Combat vet, having served in the striker brigade fighting for you all America in the war zone," Palin told those in attendance. The failed vice presidential nominee described her son as "hardened" and "a bit different" since returning from the Middle East.
The former half-term governor of Alaska then turned the conversation to President Obama, claiming that he doesn't understand the military and has been the cause of the PTSD of many soldiers, including her son.
"It starts from the top, the question though it comes from our own president, when they have to look at him and wonder, do you know what we go through, do you know what we're trying to do to secure America and to secure the freedoms that have been bequeathed us?"
Veterans fire back
The backlash against Palin came quick, and was highlighted by the reaction from a well-respected veteran's group out of New York City.
Paul Rieckhoff, the head of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), said that Palin shouldn't "politicize" the "very serious problem" of PTSD. "PTSD is a very serious problem, a complicated mental health injury," Rieckhoff said, noting "I would be extremely reluctant to blame any one person in particular."
Rieckhoff said that Palin and Trump should sit down to discuss the issue, not put the blame on Obama, and that he hopes it "doesn’t become a portable chew toy in a political campaign." While Track Palin might be suffering from PTSD, he actually only served in Iraq for one year, in 2008, during the administration of George W. Bush.
