Whether Trump and Sanders supporters like it or not, the science shows that on average, septuagenarians have markedly worse reasoning, memory, and cognitive speed than younger adults.

Though ageism may motivate many who question older public officials’ capacity to serve, it’s the unfortunate reality of the human experience that our bodies and minds simply don’t serve us as well as they used to once we reach our seventies.

We definitely don’t need to speculate about whether Trump has any symptoms of cognitive decline, because he regularly becomes confused and wanders off from public events, sometimes without even signing the legislation that was the entire point of the event. Additionally, he has adopted an unprecedentedly relaxed schedule relative to past Presidents, with long stretches of unstructured free time built into his days.

Over 18,000 psychologists, psychiatrists, and other mental health professionals have signed a petition calling for Trump’s removal from office because he suffers from “a serious mental illness that renders him psychologically incapable of competently discharging the duties of President of the United States.”

A book titled The Dangerous Case of Donald Trump offers perspectives from 27 psychiatrists and other mental health experts, who conclude that “Trump’s mental state presents a clear and present danger to our nation and individual well-being.” Former staffers have also shared stories of Trump’s cognitive decline.

With so much public speculation about Trump’s mental health at a point that could be less than halfway through his Presidency, I can’t help but wonder what we’ll learn when his existence is no longer a daily experience, but a chapter in history.

I’d like to believe that time will tell all, but considering the lengths his cronies will undoubtedly go through to conceal any evidence of his potential cognitive decline, I doubt it.

Just as the Snopes page addressing whether Reagan had Alzheimer's while in office remains perpetually set on “unproven,” a definitive diagnosis for Trump will likely remain elusive.