Welcome to the Hive’s live blog for the first presidential debate between Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump. Assembling for tonight’s coverage are the Hive’s crack team of journalists, who will offer exclusive commentary and insights as utter bedlam unfolds over the course of 90 minutes at Hofstra University.

Pre-debate coverage has honed in on a few narratives. The total audience is expected to reach Super Bowl-like numbers, as a remarkably high number of voters are still on the fence. Second, while conventional wisdom holds that debates don’t usually change presidential contests, both candidates have a great deal to gain and lose from tonight’s bout. Clinton and Trump come into the evening with dismal likability rankings, and, third, given the differences in their rhetorical styles, it’s anyone’s guess who emerges more damaged.

Here’s where we netted out, coverage-wise:

The Hive’s Emily Jane Fox summed up the night thusly: a sniffling Donald couldn’t match Hillary’s cool.

Moderator Lester Holt ended up performing laudably, but he was no match for the fact-checkers on Twitter. Read Maya Kosoff’s look at how the Internet struck back tonight.

Abigail Tracy picked on up one of the night’s most fiery moments, in which she accused him Trump of hiding something in his tax returns.

After a somewhat civil start, the debate exploded when NAFTA was brought up. “Donald, I know you live in your own reality, but those are not the facts,” a stony-faced Clinton told Trump. Read Tina Nugyen’s report.

Plus: below, find the totality of The Hive’s discussion of the debate.

11:10 P.M.: Nick Bilton, V.F.

In conclusion, it doesn't really matter who won or lost during the debate. People who were voting for Clinton are still voting for Clinton; people who love Trump, still love him. The reality is, at the end of the day, most people are one-issue voters and they have already made up their mind about who they are going to vote for. Still, it did make for some good television and Twittering. Also, what was with Trump's constant sniffing? Sniff, sniff.

10:33 P.M.: Jim Warren, Poynter

The single greatest problem the world has is nuclear armaments, says Trump, and segues into making that more of a matter of our not getting compensated adequately by Japan, Saudi Arabia, South Korea, etc., for assisting in their defense. It winds up mashed into his larger construct of "we're losing," but in a dollars and cents manner.

10:32 P.M.: Bruce Handy, V.F.

Will sniffles be the sighs of 2016? Is Benadryl the new Benghazi?

10:30 P.M.: Bruce Feirstein, V.F.

Great moments in Presidential rhetoric.

“I also have a better temperament than she does… I have a winning temperament… I know how to win.”

The question of the evening, so far: How are Trump’s supporters going to spin this debacle into a sound bite that he won?

That could well turn out to be the only amusing part of all of this, given how appalling the rest of the debate has been.

10:30 P.M.: James Wolcott, Columnist, V.F.

Clogged sinuses can strike a person at any time. How unfortunate when they strike the Republican candidate the night of a presidential debate to determine the fate of a fragile planet spinning in cold, uncaring space. If there is justice in this world, and there probably isn't, Trump's Sniffles will become as accursed as Gore's Sighs in political lore. It is pointless weighing in at length about the substance of this debate since it's so lopsided a spectacle: Trump is basically pulling an audio tape of one long run-on sentence out of his mouth and lets it form a tangled ribbon on the stage floor.

Lester Holt has done a terrific job as moderator and questioner and redeemed the reputation of his profession and NBC News.

10:29 P.M.: Howard Dean Goes There

10:25 P.M.: Jim Warren, Poynter

Trump cites his top media cheerleader, Fox’s Sean Hannity, as proof that he didn’t change his view on the war in Iraq? It’s akin to Clinton asking us to call Bill for affirmation of her virtue and candor.

10:25 P.M.: David Friend, V.F.

Trump: NATO, It’s All About Me

Trump: I was for the war before I was against it

Trump: Obama should thank me for getting the truth out about the birth certificate

America: ?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

10:20 P.M.: Jon Kelly, Hive Editor, V.F.

Hacker Barron Trump will put fear in the heart of Russian spies everywhere!

10:04 P.M.: Bruce Handy, V.F.

Trump is saying Clinton is a failure because she didn't get Obama to produce his birth certificate and he did? Is that the worst assertion ever in a presidential debate? Now he's saying he did Obama a favor?

Fascinating/sad that Trump defends himself and his father on the issue of 70s discrimination lawsuits by saying they were just one of thousands of companies the DOJ sued. Hey, everybody in real estate was racist then! What can you do?

10:02 P.M.: Jim Warren, Poynter

Sidney Blumenthal comes up in a presidential debate! The subject was Trump allegations (unfounded) on Clinton and the Obama birther matter. Blumenthal? If you missed it here, be my guest.

10:02 P.M.: Nick Bilton, *V.F.*

Fact check: According to Trump, crime is at an all-time high. Yet according to the FBI crime report, the rate of violent crime has fallen 50 percent since 1991, when it peaked.

10:00 P.M.: Interruption Alert!

9:57 P.M.: Nick Bilton, V.F.

This is Donald Trump’s entire campaign strategy: try and drive fear into Americans. He talks about “gangs roaming the streets” with guns, and how dangerous society is today. (Which is actually very false.) He just keeps hammering at the negative picture of society: “It’s terrible what’s going on in Chicago.” “There are some bad things going on.” “We need law and order.” It’s all fear, and it’s an unbelievably powerful strategy for Trump to bolster support to red states across America.

9:54 P.M.: Kia Makarechi, V.F.

Let’s face it: neither of these candidates are at their most convincing when talking about how much they care about poor communities of color. Trump’s syrupy odes to the “hell” that African-Americans face are horribly insincere, and the Clintons have a fraught history on this issue. But watching Trump dismiss the unconstitutionality of stop-and-frisk programs makes this issue an easy one to decide on.

Black Lives Matter activist DeRay McKesson weighed in on Twitter.

9:50 P.M.: Paul Elie, V.F.

If Trump had his way, he would put the United States under bankruptcy protection, “take advantage” of the laws of international trade, and “make America great again” by offloading the “debtor nation's” debts to some other nation. Problem is, the U.S. is still the world's party of last resort. There's no shell to put our debt under the way he has done time after time in the financial shell game he plays.

9:43 P.M.: Kia Makarechi, V.F.

Sounding a Joe Biden-like note, Trump says American infrastructure mirrors a “Third-World Country.” In response, Clinton says Trump didn’t pay taxes—millions of dollars that could fund public projects. Trump, taking the bait, says, “it would have been squandered, too,” thereby admitting that he did, in fact, evade taxes.

9:42 P.M.: Nick Bilton, V.F.

In my opinion, Hillary Clinton is winning so far. She’s level-headed, calm and stoic. Donald Trump is excitable, emotional, taking big deep breaths and babbling (which he does a lot). That doesn’t mean he can’t turn around, but 30 minutes in, I’d say it's Hillary’s to lose.

9:36 P.M.: Jim Warren, Poynter

On taxes, and Trump’s unceasing stonewalling about his returns, why doesn't Holt simply ask, “Did you pay taxes last year and, if so, how much?”

Instead of making it a matter of the public's “right to know,” just ask how much he paid.

9:35 P.M.: Bruce Feirstein, V.F.

Ugh. I really didn’t expect this to become so painful to watch, quite this quickly. Trump seems to only have six words in his vocabulary: Disaster, great, believe me, billions and jobs. It feels a total mismatch: Hillary sounds like she’s running for president, and The Donald sounds like he’s running for the 9th Ward real estate commissioner in Queens.

9:32 P.M.: Kia Makarechi, Story Editor, VF.com

After Clinton directed viewers to check out her site, which has been turned into a fact-checking service for the evening, Trump implored viewers to check his out, too. The problem: Trump’s Web site is down. Doesn’t inspire confidence.

9:22 P.M.: Nick Bilton, Special Correspondent, V.F.

From these candidates perspectives, they’re fully aware that every single movement they make, every word they say, every smirk or frown they make, or anything at all they do, could end up as a hashtag, animated-GIF or meme. And it can happen in mere nanoseconds. Sure, Twitter and other platforms existed during previous elections and debates, but not in the way that they do today.

9:30 P.M.: Paul Elie, Contributor, V.F.:

“I know you live in your own reality,” Hillary tells Donald. In the split-screen format, they both do. Donald looks at Hillary, or seems to do so; Hillary looks at . . . what? Who? Lester Holt? The prompter? The audience? She needs to turn and face him and, Lloyd Bentsen-like, call him something – call him out for something.

9:29 P.M.: David Friend, V.F.

That perpetual puss on Trump’s face. It’s getting more sour with the hour. It’s the true badge of deep insecurity, even more so than the dye job, the bluster, the overcompensating braggadocio, the bullying. He thinks a scowl projects strength when it actually projects macho drag: a calculated method for masking his lack of political nuance, human understanding, and self-knowledge.

9:26 P.M.: Judy Bachrach, Contributing Editor, V.F.:

Wait, where is Lester Holt?

9:21 P.M.: From Bruce Handy, V.F.

I’M SORRY. I CAN’T BELIEVE THIS IS HAPPENING. DONALD TRUMP IS THE REPUBLICAN NOMINEE FOR PRESIDENT. HE IS IN A PRESIDENTIAL DEBATE—AGAINST HILLARY CLINTON, NOT OMAROSA.

[breathing into a paper bag now]

9:20 P.M.: From William D. Cohan, V.F.

Fact check: Tax policy did not cause the financial crisis, Hillary!

9:18 P.M.: From Jim Warren, Poynter

Early on a new definition of "Insincerity" for Webster's next edition: "Donald, it's good to be with you," says Clinton. Wait, now a new definition of "Insincerity" for that next edition of Webster's: "I want you to be very happy," Trump says to Clinton. "That's very important to me."

9:17 P.M.: From Bruce Handy, V.F.

One interesting aspect of this will be Trump dealing with a non-responsive audience. So much of his campaign style is feeding off his audiences and getting them riled up. You saw that at the end of his first answer. His voice started rising. The angry-Trump voice started sneaking in, but he seemed to be playing into a vacuum. Not the same as a rowdy arena crowd.

9:12 P.M.: From David Friend, Editor of Creative Development, V.F.

The Nielsen ratings service recently determined that the three most impactful televised news events of the past generation were the 9/11 attacks, the O.J. Simpson Bronco chase (and verdict), and Hurricane Katrina. Where will this evening’s showdown place as we look back a generation from now? After all the hype and Sturm und Drang, ah, maybe not so much.

9:10 P.M.: And we’re off.

Trump, in a blue—not red—tie, responds to Clinton’s jobs plan by noting that companies are fleeing the United States. He cited Ford, but—fact check: only a very small division of Ford is leaving the country.

9:03 P.M.: From Jim Warren, Chief Media Writer, *Poynter*

As usual, C-Span plays it all very straight and, without commentary, shows you everything happening in the hall. That included the debate commission co-chairs explaining the rules and introducing various luminaries and Hofstra University president Stuart Rabinowitz praising his own institutions—and the fat cat donors who were in the room. It was at least a clear reminder of how In higher education, just like politics, bringing in the big checks is an imperative.

9:00 P.M.: From William D. Cohan, Special Correspondent, V.F.

Always nice to see Lazard partner and “first pal” Vernon Jordan seated right next to Bill Clinton on the stage. Hard to divorce Wall Street from the Clintons.

8:59 P.M.: From Jim Warren, Chief Media Writer, Poynter

In the hours of run-up to the debate, especially on cable news, there seemed so little to say, so much time to say it.

With less than an hour to go, the army of pre-programmed partisans beckoned included Tony Schwartz, the onetime Trump co-author, who repeated his made-for-TV assessment.

“He’s a liar then, he’s a liar now,” he told CNN.

Then there was Bobby Knight. Yes, that Bobby Knight, the former basketball coach in his trademark Hoosier-red sweater (ironic since he got booted from that job at Indian though he remains an Indiana icon).

”I think he’s an extremely sharp man, a tough minded man.” He then informed the audience, ”I was a history and government major,” presumably cementing his credentials as an expert on the election.

And there was Fox News, the king of the daily and wicked cable news competition, was batting around possible questions with in an often droll fashion.

"She needs to show that she can be liked," said Krauthammer. "There's a way to do it, if she doesn't shout and get angry." He alluded to her tear-filled moment during the 2008 Democratic primary campaign in New Hampshire. Krauthammer said she has "a good chance" of repeating such an impactful moment.

As for specific questions, Krauthammer had this for Trump: "Shortly after the convention, you said there are things that you regret. Name one, specifically."

"I like that one!" said O'Reilly.

"And it's short," said Krauthammer, self-approvingly.

A CNN pre-debate newsletter raised a bunch of questions whose resoluton it wondered about.

"Will Lester Holt fact check?"

Hmmm. The likely answer is this: maybe if there is a complete whopper that he's prepared for. But he probably would not engage in the aggressive, de facto rebuttals that some called for, including many in the press.

"How quickly will journaists name a "winner" and "loser"?

Well, not such a big hmmm. Likely answer: Before it ends.

8:56 P.M.: People Are Really Having Fun

A reporter was filmed yelling, “thanks a lot, bitch” in the scrum.

8:33 P.M.: Bruce Handy, V.F. contributing editor:

I don’t doubt that sexism is a significant factor in Hillary Clinton’s inability to put the election away. (I mean, by any objective standards, by which I mean my standards, she should be winning by 40 points.) But at the same time, I think it’s fascinating how little the historic nature of her candidacy seems to resonate, at least in the media and the social bubbles that I inhabit. Is there an excitement about possibly electing the first female president comparable to the excitement surrounding Barack Obama's candidacy eight years ago? My sense is no.

If true, there are several likely reasons for this. One, Clinton has been a public figure for a quarter century now. Two, for that entire quarter century her enemies have been working to define her as... well, we all know the anti-Hillary litany. The point is, the more she's painted as a hacky, dissembling pol, a borderline Nixonian figure, the less she is capable of appearing to be a transformational figure. Three, for all her accomplishments, she entered the public arena as a president's wife. Four, she's not the most gifted, inspiring campaigner, less Obama or Bill Clinton than Mitt Romney or Al Gore.

I guess what I’m saying is, it’s easy to take Hillary Clinton for granted as a public figure. But here’s the conundrum as I see it: is that actually a benefit for her? Is there a segment of the public that might find it easier to vote for Clinton than for a less familiar, more "novel" female candidate: Nikki Haley, say, or Kirsten Gillibrand?

8:20 P.M.: Bruce Feirstein, V.F. contributing editor:

Now that tonight’s debate has surpassed the Super Bowl in terms of empty-calorie anticipatory TV (I’m half-expecting ESPN to put on a pre-debate wrap-up show, where we get clips from “the best of the talking heads” telling the candidates what they need to do to win) I have two questions:

1. What’s Joe Biden doing tonight? Monday Night Football? Nah. My bet is that he’s home, working on his car. And maybe, just maybe, occasionally tuning in on an A.M. radio.

2. When it’s over tonight, and HBO puts the Campaign 2016 mini-series into development tomorrow morning, who’s going to play Donald Trump? We can already assume the Hillary role is going to either Meryl Streep, Helen Mirren or Bette Midler. But for Trump, I’m thinking John Travolta. It’s sort of the perfect segue from his latest role, playing the Queens based Mafia Chieftain, John Gotti, isn’t it?

7:43 P.M.: Pray for Bill O’Reilly

Someone is not having fun at Hofstra.

7:29 P.M.: Jill Stein Already Earned the Headline She Came For

4:00 P.M.: Hive contributor T.A. Frank writes that Trump is the odds-on favorite going into the debate. “So here’s another take for while you wait,” Frank writes. “In the first debate, Clinton either puts Trump away, or she loses. A tie favors Trump. But let’s look more closely.”

“. . . what we hear and read again and again from interviews with undecided voters is that they dislike what Clinton is offering yet they worry that Trump is out of control. We can also see that voters are exceptionally dissatisfied with how things are going in the United States. Nearly two-thirds of them believe the country is on the wrong track, and only about 30 percent believe it’s on the right track. To be sure, the same numbers were also unfavorable in 2004 and 2012, but a slight majority of Americans thought well of George W. Bush and Barack Obama personally, which they largely do not of Clinton.”

3:50 P.M.: Poynter’s James Warren zeroes in on Lester Holt, tonight’s moderator. Warren writes that the pressure is on Holt, a registered Republican whom has already been smeared as a liberal partisan by the fact-averse Trump.

Holt wound up at MSNBC and rose to become Brian Williams’sreplacement on “NBC Nightly News.” That was an accident amid Williams’s ethical travail. But it’s no accident that the Presidential Debates commission selected him to be moderator tonight, even if not everyone agrees what he should do if faced with blatant lies, especially from Donald Trump.

Carol Marin, a prominent Chicago reporter-anchor who worked with him says, “The best advice I ever got is the same I would give: listen carefully and be ready to depart from prepared questions if/when the candidate says something that cries out for follow-up.” Holt is in a bind, whatever he does, especially with the media's born-again fascination with fact-checking. He’ll perhaps be chided for either being too soft or too harsh. “No matter what he does, he’ll get hammered,” said Joe Scarborough this morning. “Nobody will be happy no matter what he does.”

3:45 P.M.: The first Trump-Clinton mash-up is getting weirdly metaphysical, Tina Nguyen writes on the Hive. With debate commissioners and moderators insisting that they’re not in the business of fact-checking the candidates, it’s clear the biggest loser might be objective reality itself.