White House: Track Palin Incident ‘Not A Joke’

White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest reacted to Sarah Palin’s comments about her son Track Palin – who was recently ridiculed by critics of the family after police were called to respond to reports of domestic violence.

Sarah Palin said during a political rally that her son Track had been “hardened” by the war in Iraq and that Obama had failed in his responsibility to properly treat veterans who were coming back with PTSD.

“It starts from the top,” she said. “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?”

Earnest called for all parties not to treat the incident lightly. He said he was unaware if President Obama had seen the comments.

“The fact is, domestic violence is not a joke. Gun violence is not a joke,” he said during the White House press briefing today. “Problems with addiction are not a joke and the consequences, or I should say the sacrifices that many of our men and women in uniform make for our safety and security are not a joke.”

Earnest specified that he was not accusing Palin of taking the event lightly, but cautioned her critics not to joke about it after her comments.

“Sometimes those jokes come pretty easy,” he said. “But in this case, the issues that she’s talking about are quite serious and they’re certainly issues that we take quite seriously here.”