Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump Speak at New York Dinner (Live Blog)

They meet again: Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump are speaking Thursday night at the Alfred E. Smith Foundation Dinner, in what will be a test of civility during one of the most caustic campaigns in recent memory.

In past cycles, the occasion has been used for moments of levity, meaning polite jabs at each other but occasional words of praise. Of course, this cycle is not like any other past cycle.

The two candidates already posed for a group photo — but they were on either side of New York Cardinal Timothy Dolan.

Clinton and Trump were seated on the dais as on both sides of Dolan, and at one point did have a conversation.

Follow along for updates, and watch a live stream of the event above.

8:57 pm ET: The warm up. Al Smith IV is introducing those who are in the room with a little bit of roasting. Earlier he joked to the crowd that Trump asked Clinton how she was before dinner and she said, “I’m fine. Now get out of the ladies dressing room.”

Or this one: “The Catholic Church is not the largest tax exempt landlord here tonight.”

9:04 pm ET: Trump on stage. He starts by noting how many politicians loved him when he was in real estate — but thought he was “disgusting” when he got into politics.

Then a bit of levity. “They say when you do this kind of event you start out with a self deprecating joke. Some thought this would be tough for me, but the truth is I am actually a modest person.” Laughs.

It seems to be tough on him, and he seems to be really disliking this. “This is corny stuff,” he says.

9:09 pm ET. The debate. Trump also comments on the debate — and it’s a bit awkward. “Some people are saying that last night was the most vicious debate in history. Are we supposed to be proud of that?”

Then some quips. “Last night I called Hillary a nasty woman. This is all relative. After listening to Hillary go on and on and on, I actually don’t think so badly about Rosie O’Donnell anymore.”

Clinton is laughing pretty hard at this stuff.

“This is the first time ever that Hillary is sitting down with major corporate leaders and not getting paid for it,” he says.

9:13 pm ET. Melania. Trump says he’ll be in trouble for a quip. It’s not hard to see why. “Michelle Obama gives a speech and everyone loves it,” he says, “and then Melania gives exact same speech and people get on her case.”

“I’m in trouble when I go home tonight,” Trump says.

9:17 pm ET. Boos. Now Trump is actually getting boos as he goes into attack mode. “Here she is tonight, in public, pretending not to hate Catholics,” he says, as he cites some WikiLeaks revelations. Hillary actually seems to be smiling, and Dolan turns away.

More boos as he says, “Hillary is so corrupt, she got kicked off the Watergate commission.”

Tradition has been for the jokes to be self deprecating, but very very little of Trump’s speech was.

9:21 pm ET. Hillary is up. Well, let’s see if she understands the audience.

She makes a joke about taking a break from her “rigorous nap schedule,” and then a quip about the price of her speeches.

Clinton: “It’s amazing I’m up here after Donald. I didn’t think he’d be OK with a peaceful transition of power.” Trump actually laughs.

9:26 pm ET. She’s returning the favor. It’s not as biting, but Clinton is getting in digs at Trumps.

“Donald, I enjoyed listening to your speech. I will also enjoy listening to Mike Pence denying you ever gave it,” she says.

Also this: “Some look at Statue of Liberty and see a symbol… Donald sees a 4. Or maybe a 5 if she loses the torch and tablet and changes her hair.”

9:32 pm ET. Drug testing. Trump got booed, but Clinton actually is roasting him. Noting that Trump said she should be drug tested before the latest debate, she said, “I am flattered that Donald feels I used some kind of performance enhancer. Actually I did, it’s called preparation.” Trump, to his credit, is chuckling.

Then this: “He actually sent a car to bring me here tonight. Actually it was a hearse.”

9:37 pm ET. Unity. Clinton makes a quip about their shared unity — in ripping on Ted Cruz. It’s funny. But in contrast to past dinners, you really do see how much Clinton and Trump dislike each other.

She finishes her remarks with a serious note of how bitter and divided the discourse has been — and an earnest call for unity.

“We need to get better at finding ways to disagree on matters of policy, while agreeing on questions of decency,” she says.

Both speeches were short on self-deprecation and full of digs on each other. Trump got booed for going into full-on Crooked Hillary, while Clinton kept the focus on humor albeit mainly at her opponent’s expense.

Dolan says that his seat between the two of them is the “iciest place on the planet — where is global warming when you need it?”

Trump’s best joke: About’s Melania’s speech. Clinton’s best: About the Statue of Liberty.

9:53 pm ET. The handshake. For the record, it happened.

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