Virginia Democratic Senate Minority Leader Richard Saslaw is defending Democratic Gov. Ralph Northam after a 1984 yearbook photo surfaced of Northam taking part in a racist costume skit.

A firestorm ensued on social media Friday evening after an image surfaced in Northam’s 1984 medical school yearbook photo that showed a man dressed in blackface next to another one dressed in a Ku Klux Klan robe. It capped a week of controversy for Northam who appeared to endorse born-alive abortions during a radio interview Wednesday. (RELATED: Rubio Rips Virgina Gov. Northam For ‘Infanticide’ Comments)

Saslaw excused the embarrassing photo, saying it doesn’t represent the way he has conducted himself in public office.

According to The Washington Post, Saslaw said:

His whole life has been about exactly the opposite and that’s something that occurred 30 years ago. While it’s in very poor taste, I would think there is a problem no one in the General Assembly who would like their college conduct examined. I would hate to have to go back and examine my two years in the Army. Trust me. I was 18 years old and I was a handful, OK? His life since then has been anything but. It’s been a life of helping people, and many times for free.

The quote in Northam’s yearbook says, “There are more old drunks than old doctors in this world so I think I’ll have another beer.”

The photo shows both men holding cans of beer.

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