WASHINGTON — Sarah Palin, the 2008 Republican vice presidential nominee, seemed on Wednesday to blame President Obama for how veterans returning home from war are treated.

Speaking in Tulsa, Oklahoma, at her first campaign appearance since endorsing Donald Trump for president, Palin addressed what she called the "elephant in the room."

She said that veterans like her son Track come back "a bit different, they come back hardened" after deployments, and that they wonder if they're respected for what they "so sacrificially have given to this country."

While campaigning for #DonaldTrump, #SarahPalin spoke about her son, a combat veteran, who was arrested this week. https://t.co/HM5d4lBqyl — Fox News (@FoxNews) January 20, 2016

"It starts from the top," Palin continued. "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?" she added. "So when my own son is going through what he goes through, coming back, I can certainly relate with other families who feel these ramifications of some PTSD and some of the woundedness that our soldiers do return with."

Palin's son, Track Palin, was arrested Monday on domestic violence charges after a fight in Wasilla, Alaska, with his girlfriend. Track Palin, 26, is an Iraq combat veteran who lives with his parents.

Woah... Palin saying her son came back from Iraq "different." Blaming Obama for how veterans are treated. — Domenico Montanaro (@DomenicoNPR) January 20, 2016

Some veterans and advocates took to Twitter to slam Palin for using her son as a "campaign prop."

If battering his girlfriend and his reported suicide threat are related to PTSD, then it's probably not helpful to use as a campaign prop. — Brandon Friedman (@BFriedmanDC) January 20, 2016

This isn't the first time Palin has spoken openly about PTSD. During a speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference last February, Palin delivered a moving speech calling on the country to take care of its veterans, citing the challenges returning soldiers face in obtaining quality healthcare and getting jobs after returning from deployment.