Sarah Palin publicly addressed her son Track's arrest on domestic violence charges during her first post-endorsement appearance Wednesday on the campaign trail for Donald Trump, appearing to link his alleged behavior to post-traumatic stress disorder -- even using it to criticize President Obama's veteran policies.
Speaking to the pro-Trump crowd in Tulsa, Okla., Palin referred to her son's case as the "elephant in the room."
After telling the crowd they deserved a commander-in-chief who "will let [military members] do their job and go kick ISIS' ass" and not "leave our wounded warriors behind," the former Alaska governor asked if she could "get a little bit personal."
"I guess it's kind of the elephant in the room because my own family going through what we're going through today, with my son, a combat vet having served in the striker brigade fighting for you all, America, in the war zone," she said.
"But my son, like so many others, they come back a bit different. 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.
Palin, a Tea Party favorite and the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, told the crowd that "things will change under President Trump."
She went on to criticize the GOP establishment as well as Obama's foreign policies.
