Frank Buckley is a Professor at George Mason University School of Law and the speechwriter behind Donald Trump’s RNC speech, otherwise known as the alt-right authoritarian sexual favor.

He appeared on Morning Joe where inevitably the discussion turned towards Mr. Trump’s penchant for bragging about sexual abuse. Something that would be damaging enough to have been busted for saying one time, much less constantly making similar claims while yucking it up with a shock jock.

So for a prestigious professor and speechwriter, that has to hurt, right? No one wants to hear that the guy they support has had such a low view of women. So it’s not unsurprising that he says he’s not happy with the comments, but his defense of it was the type of thing we usually joke about.

Frank Buckley says there's a big maturity difference between a 60 year old and a 70 year old to excuse Trump acting like a 5 year old. pic.twitter.com/3ZTCkpqexA

— I Told You So (@BenHowe) October 11, 2016

In case you were unable to see that video, when Buckley was asked what he thought of the hot mic comments, he gave lip service to not liking them and then followed it up with blaming it on Trump’s age at the time.

Trump was 59.

And married.

With a pregnant wife.

These are things that you know not to say at 29. Or 39. Hell, these things that people know not to say if they’re simply decent. But putting aside whether you think it’s actually locker room talk or the confession of a serial sexual abuser, have we really reached the point where defenders of Donald Trump are willing to claim that he’s done a “lot of growing up” since he was FIFTY-NINE?

And if that’s the case, is it not disturbing to anyone else that is making this defense that you are essentially putting the power of nuclear warfare in the hands of a guy who apparently didn’t crack through the ceiling of adolescence until he was older than the current president is right now?

It is almost as exhausting covering the ridiculousness of Trump’s defenders as it is covering the man himself. I can’t imagine how difficult it is to be one of them.