News

The first presidential debate: Live updates from Clinton vs. Trump

It’s one of the most anticipated events in American political history – the first debate between presidential candidates Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump.

The two will meet at Hofstra University on Long Island, N.Y., Monday night at 9 p.m. (ET). The debate will last for 90 minutes, un-interrupted by commercials.

INLINE

More than 100 million people could be tuning in tonight to watch as the candidates answer questions posed by NBC News’ Lester Holt.

The first debate will be divided into six 15-minute segments. The moderator will open each segment with a question, after which each candidate will have two minutes to respond. Candidates will then have an opportunity to respond to each other. The moderator will use the balance of the time in the segment for a deeper discussion of the topic.

As the debate gets underway, the candidates are in a virtual dead heat as far as support goes, despite the fact that both are viewed negatively by nearly 60 percent in recent polls.