Former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush (R) said during a radio appearance on Thursday that it wasn’t “appropriate” for former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) to blame President Barack Obama for her son’s domestic violence arrest.
Bush said on Fox News Radio’s “Kilmeade and Friends” that post-traumatic stress disorder—which Palin had suggested her son suffered from—as well as homelessness and suicide are serious problems among the nation’s veterans. The audio was flagged by BuzzFeed News.
“It’s a national tragedy, all of us I think have a responsibility to roll up our sleeves,” Bush said. “I don’t think blaming the President is appropriate.”
Track Palin was arrested Monday on suspicion of domestic violence. He allegedly punched his girlfriend in the face and threatened to shoot himself, according to a police report. His mother, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, suggested Wednesday that his combat service was to blame for his actions and accused the Obama administration of not doing enough for post-9/11 veterans like her son.
Bush said that while Obama cannot be blamed for Track’s actions, he could be blamed for the “dysfunction of the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
“You can blame the president for the dysfunction of the Department of Veterans Affairs, where they are giving out bonuses totaling $140 million,” Bush said. “Included bonuses for people that reduced workloads or the wait list for veterans, but they didn’t give veterans care and veterans died, that’s a scandal.”
Bush did not mention that his brother, former President George W. Bush, authorized the country’s two longest wars in the Middle East. Track Palin served a twelve-month tour in Iraq beginning in September 2008, according to the Alaska Dispatch News.
