The memes are rolling in and the image of the night has to be Booker giving O'Rourke a bit of side-eye early in the debate.

Chris Matthews asked Booker about the moment, and the candidate said that when he heard O'Rourke offer some of his answer in Spanish: "He threw down the gauntlet and I had to respond."

Based on a casual observation of Twitter, Beto appears to be the most-snarked-about candidate of the evening, with the Booker moment offering a chance for a variety of cultural references.

And O’Rourke went back to his Spanish quite a few times — a strategy that was not lost on much of the snarkier Twitter contingent.

The review from the Trump campaign is in: “This debate was the best argument for President Trump’s re-election and should really be counted as an in-kind contribution to the President’s campaign. The Democrats proposed a radical government takeover of American society that would demolish the American dream so many are gaining access to under the growing Trump economy."

Klobuchar touted her experience and winning in Trump country: In the post-debate spin room, the Minnesota lawmaker said this election has to be a "national mandate" on climate change, health care and immigration, among other issues, and that she's the one to get it done.

"Every time I lead our ticket in Minnesota we win big," she told MSNBC's Chris Matthews. "I have won in districts, including ones that Trump won, by 20 points." 

In the post-debate spin room, Ohio Rep. Tim Ryan once again called on Democrats to abandon what he characterized as coastal elitism and pay more attention to the economic hardships of working class families in the Rust Belt.

Ryan, as he did during the debate, told MSNBC's Chris Matthews that focusing on pocketbook issues in the industrial Midwest and dropping "Ivy League" cultural politics would help Democrats retake the White House.

Cory Booker said he would not accept a vice president offer from Joe Biden — or any other male presidential candidate, for that matter.

In the MSNBC spin room, the New Jersey senator told Chris Matthews that he does not want to see a single-gender presidential ticket, adding that he believes a woman and person of color should be on the Democratic ballot.

One of the challenges for both those debating on stage and reporters monitoring the debate is the always looming question of who won. A consensus answer might be more difficult this evening because of the unquestionable effect of social media.

While many political reporters working for major media organizations maintain an active presence on Twitter, the social media network features a far more diverse cast of influential figures and thought leaders than the nation’s newsrooms. That difference between journalists and the Twitterati might ultimately shape assessments of who emerged the victor in tonight’s debate.

Julián Castro made the claim earlier this evening that the reason the Trump administration is separating families is because "they are using section 1325 of that act which criminalizes coming across the border to incarcerate the parents and then separate them."

This is true. Section 1325 within the U.S. Code, “sets forth criminal offenses relating to (1) improper entry into the United States by an alien." The Trump administration has used this statute to prosecute, and detain, people for illegally crossing the U.S. border. 

Castro, referring to himself, also said that, “Some of us on this stage have called to end that section, to terminate it."

"Some like Congressman O’Rourke have not," Castro said. 

O’Rourke, in fact, told CNN earlier this month that he did “not think it should be repealed,” citing attempts by some crossing the border to smuggle people or drugs into the U.S. 

Observation: Castro and de Blasio demonstrated different skill levels in the bringing of personal biography to the debate stage tonight. De Blasio described his experience raising a black son and his father’s mental and physical injuries in World War II. Castro spoke of his family’s origins in Mexico and climb into public service in the United States. At the end of the evening, Castro had been the subject of 147,000 tweets, making him a trending topic.

"Despite what Purdue Pharma has done, their connection to the opioid crisis and the overdose deaths that we're seeing throughout this country, they've been able to act with complete impunity and pay no consequences, not a single night in jail," O’Rourke said at one point of the makers of the drug Oxycontin.

This is mostly false. While it's true that no executives from the company have gone to prison, the corporation behind the narcotic has paid hundreds of millions of dollars in fines and settlements over the years.

This year, for instance, Purdue Pharma paid $270 million in a settlement with the state of Oklahoma.

Just a couple of references were made to one of the pressing issues inside the Democratic Party. The party is increasingly dependent upon the votes of black and Latino voters but hires consultants and spends the bulk of its voter mobilization energy in pursuit of white, working class voters who began decamping for the Republican Party more than five decades ago.

The first reference emerged in Ryan's argument that a focus on "working class" American issues would unite various demographic groups and repair the party's reputation as a collection of coastal "elites." 

The second came in a question from moderator Rachel Maddow, who asked Klobuchar what she has done in her legislative career for the African Americans the party relies on to form its most reliable voter base.

Here are the closing statements from each candidate, summarized: 

Delaney: "We're so much better than this" ... "This is about getting America working again."

De Blasio: "Choose someone" who has experience like his as New York City mayor fighting for "working people."

Inslee: "If we do not have the next president" as someone who commits to climate change as his top priority, it will be a disaster.

Ryan: I've represented a forgotten community, this election is about bringing all of America together. Forgotten America will be heard.

Gabbard: Our country is about "service before self," we don't have that right now in our government.

Castro: I will work hard every single day to increase opportunity for all Americans. We will say "adios" to Trump.

Klobuchar: I get things done, that's my focus, and I have a track record. Also, I can win and beat Trump because of my history of winning in red districts.

Booker: I've taken on bullies and won. We win when we rise above the fray. Let's not fight at Trump's level.

O'Rourke: Can't return to the same old politics. The next generation needs to be at the forefront of U.S. policy.

Warren: I came from humble roots and know how hard it is to succeed. I'm fighting to open up that opportunity to everyone. "I will fight for you as hard as I fight for my own family."

"I’m someone that can win and beat Donald Trump. ... I have won in the reddest of districts," Klobuchar claimed in her closing statement. And it's true — Klobuchar carried a bulk of Minnesota counties during her 2018 re-election that Trump won in 2016.

Trump only lost Minnesota to Hillary Clinton in 2016 by 1.5 percentage points, yet Klobuchar won 60 percent of the vote in the state in 2018. Of the approximately 3,000 precincts (of 4,120 total) that voted for Trump in 2016, Klobuchar won about 1,250 of them, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.

Tim Ryan, in one of the night's few direct attacks on the Trump administration, faulted President Trump for failing to fill key roles at the State Department. The federal vacancies actually go beyond State. NBC News' Dareh Gregorian, in an article published in March, found that Trump had yet to nominate people for close to 140 top-level positions — something that experts said was hampering his long-term goals.

In the first direct question about the #LGBTQ community this Pride Month, Rep. Tulsi Gabbard was asked about her past anti-LGBTQ activities, like working for her father’s organization that advocated for same-sex marriage bans and “gay conversion therapy.” 

In response, Gabbard touted her vote for the Equality Act and said that she held views when young “that I no longer hold today.”

But Booker interjected: “This is not enough.”

“We do not talk enough about trans Americans, especially African American trans Americans, and the incredibly high rates of murder right now," Booker said.

The candidates have mostly shied away from attacking President Trump, mentioning his name sparingly. But they have also said relatively little about Trump's predecessor: Barack Obama. It doesn't seem tonight's contenders, even those who have embraced some of Obama's policies or complement him ideologically, are rushing to position themselves as the 44th president's spiritual heir.

That could leave the door open for Joe Biden tomorrow night.

These candidates are barely going after each other aside from one notable exception: Beto O'Rourke. Castro and De Blasio most notably have hit the former Texas congressman, and it seems like he's the one candidate that fellow Democrats don't have much of a problem punching on during the debate.

Beto O'Rourke was unambiguous: "We must begin impeachment now."

Insisting that pursuing impeachment proceedings against President Trump was the "only way we save this country," O'Rourke said it was imperative to hold Trump accountable for the potential crimes outlined in former special counsel Robert Mueller's report.

"If we allow him to get away with this with impunity, then we will have set a new standard," O'Rourke said, adding that future generations of Americans should not believe that certain elected officials are "above the law."

Several candidates said this. While it's difficult to quantify how much of a threat it is relative to adversarial countries or global concerns, there's no denying that climate change is a significant threat to the U.S.

Even Trump's Pentagon says so: In a January 2019 report, the agency said weather events stemming from a “changing climate” create substantial problems for U.S. military mission effectiveness. Other top U.S. officials have warnedin recent months that climate change creates long-term threats to U.S. national security thanks to its impact on things like “trade routes, food and energy supplies, the global economy, and domestic stability abroad.”

How useful was it for Democratic candidates to answer some of their questions in Spanish in the debates?

Sonia Hernandez Hogeland, who was watching the debate at a watch party in San Antonio, thought at first it was “pandering.” But Hogeland, who describes herself as bilingual-ish, said after watching Cory Booker try to get his message across in Spanish, her opinion changed.

“I thought, ‘Listen Latinos! You’re important! Your voice is important to these people! I hope Latinos take heed and flex the muscles we have earned,” Hogeland said.

But in a recent poll conducted by Latino Decisions, 76 percent of the Latino eligible voters polled said they most wanted a candidate who values diversity and brings people together. Only 2 percent of the respondents thought that the ability to speak Spanish was the most important trait for a president. (The poll was commissioned by UnidosUS, the largest Latino civil rights and advocacy group.)

According to the Pew Research Center, 32 million Latinos will be eligible to vote in 2020.

Beto O'Rourke said Wednesday that the United States should be ready to intervene to protect citizens of other countries from genocide even if the direct interests of America are not at stake but only under certain circumstances.

"The answer is yes," he said. "But that action should always be undertaken with allies and partners and friends." In his answer, O'Rourke mentioned Russia.

But O'Rourke has been extremely reluctant in the past to challenge foreign leaders for lesser hostility.

When the House voted in 2014 to condemn Russia's Vladimir Putin for his aggression toward his neighbors — a resolution expressing the sense of the body that Putin was wrong but not requiring any military action — O'Rourke was one of 10 lawmakers to vote "no."

Klobuchar made a puzzling claim about how many bills Trump has signed into law as president for which she was the lead Democratic sponsor.

"In fact, Donald Trump, one of the first bills that he signed of the 34 of he signed where I was lead Democrat — OK, that’s a first up here — was one that was about that, making sure minority community members could share in those jobs," she said in response to a question about appealing to African American voters.

That 34 number does not appear to be true, though it could depend on what she means by "lead" Democrat. According to GovTrack, a legislation and vote tracking website for members of Congress and the Senate, there have been 33 bills enacted since Klobuchar was originally sworn in 2007 for which she was the sponsor. Only six of those were enacted after Trump was inaugurated on Jan. 20, 2017.

Julián Castro, answering a question about how the Democratic candidates can appeal to Latinx voters, said running on issues of economic justice isn't enough to earn the trust of people of color. He said Democrats need to press on issues of racial justice, too. He then decried police shootings of minorities across the country, loosely working from remarks he's used on the campaign trail.

Montana Gov. Steve Bullock did not qualify to be in this week's debates but he's tuned in:  

June is Pride Month. Ninety minutes into the debate and there has been no significant mention of the #LGBTQ community aside from a few words from @JulianCastro early on.

Going back to a topic that's been in news lately — Klobuchar said President Donald Trump "made us less safe" by pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal, and Gabbard said Trump and his advisers are creating a situation where any misstep could lead to war.

It's true that experts have warned of that outcome since Trump’s withdrawal from the Obama-era deal, and those warnings have only increased as tensions have escalated between the U.S. and Iran, especially after Iran shot down a U.S. military drone over what they said was international waters.

Former U.S. officials, foreign diplomats and experts also told NBC News in recent days that there is a growing risk that a miscalculation, coupled with deep distrust, could trigger a conflict that neither side wants.

We're keeping track of how many times each candidate mentions President Trump. About an hour and a half into Night One of the debate, Amy Klobuchar is leading the name-dropping.

Not only has there been little mention of Trump during this debate, but former special counsel Robert Mueller and impeachment have not come up. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell is having his name mentioned now repeatedly. Of course, Trump tweeted "BORING!" early in the debate

Cory Booker's platform since launching his run has been about taking on tough challenges and issues that others said were impossible as Newark city council member, then becoming mayor and going on to the Senate. During his first trip to Iowa as a presidential candidate he told voters he's qualified because he has had to "run something."

The first question after commercial break was for Warren. The topic: Guns.

The impassioned Massachusetts senator made it clear how seriously she takes the issue of gun control.

"Gun violence is a national health emergency in this country," she said, adding that she believes the federal government should "double down on the research" on gun rights policy.

De Blasio's multiracial family appears to be a part of his campaign platform. New York's mayor raised his role as the father of a black son while describing his approach to gun policy and raised his family makeup last week when chastising the current Democratic Party front-runner Joe Biden's comments about compromising with segregationists during Biden's early years in the U.S. Senate.

NRA ratings: Booker, Inslee, Delaney rate a seven on the NRA's one to 100 support scale. Warren, O'Rourke, Gabbard, Ryan and Klobuchar all rate a 13. Castro and De Blasio do not have a rating.

Booker is correct to say that after Connecticut passed a law requiring universal background checks, it saw a 40 percent decrease in the gun homicide rate and a 15 percent decrease in the gun suicide rate.

But this data is cherry picked, because other states haven’t seen these same successes. For example, a 2019 analysis found that states with these kind of laws saw a 10 percent decrease in homicide rates, according to Everytown for Gun Safety. 

The mayor, speaking about the issue of gun violence, said crime in his city has gone down during his administration. This is mostly true. 

According to statistics kept by the city, citywide total crimes that fall into the seven major felony offenses (murder and manslaughter, rape, robbery, felony assault, burglary, grand larceny and motor vehicle grand larceny) have consistently fallen since 2014, when de Blasio was sworn in, and the overall crime rate for the month of March fell in 2019 to its lowest level for any March since 1994.

On the other hand, in reviewing the individual crime categories, rapes have ticked upward since 2014 by nearly 33 percent — although experts say that could be related to increased rates of reporting, not the rapes themselves.

One thing we didn't hear a lot about tonight: working with Republicans ... until Chock Todd asked about it. That's a message that has been pushed by some candidates, most notably the frontrunner Joe Biden.

On guns, there are some references to writing gun-control bills that could gain support from the GOP, but not many.

Warren said this one, and it's almost dead on, according to data published in the New England Journal of Medicine. The study found that as many as eight children are killed by guns each day.

Warren goes hard on gun violence, says that we need to treat it like a "virus."

"Gun violence is a national health emergency in this country," she said. "It means making real change in this country whether it's politically popular or not."  Americans own an estimated 310 million guns, a figure so massive that gun buy-back programs have little effect, research indicates.

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, said, "If you go to Guantánamo Bay, there are terrorists that are held that get better health care than those kids that tried to cross the border in the United States.”

While it would be a stretch to say that detainees at Guantánamo Bay overwhelmingly receive great health care (there have been myriad reports of neglect and abuse), many detainees do receive regular access to health care, including routine procedures and critical surgeries. In contrast, recent reports have said that detained children are living in squalid conditions with lice and other ailments and don’t have access to soap or toothbrushes.

Several of the Democratic candidates answered questions at least partially in Spanish, demonstrating their desire to reach out to the small slice of the electorate that consists of Spanish-speaking Latinos.

The risk is that they might lose the interest of voters who don’t speak Spanish — even those who basically support bilingualism but don’t want to watch debates they can’t understand — or, worse for Democrats, actually alienate persuadable swing voters.

In 2016, Latinos accounted for about 11 percent of the vote in the general election. While they will be a much larger portion of the Democratic primary electorate in 2020 — particularly in several key states like California, Texas and Florida — most Latino voters speak English.

So, the question is whether in the interest of appealing to some set of Latino voters themselves, these candidates are costing their party ground with the broader electorate.

Chuck Todd, who was tagging in as a moderator along with Rachel Maddow for the next hour, said the team was having audio difficulties. 

Shortly after, President Donald Trump tweeted criticism of NBC and MSNBC over the technical production issue, which was resolved following a commercial break.

While everyone debated what they would do on immigration, Inslee talked about his record on the issue.

"I'm proud that we passed law that prevents local law enforcement from being turned into many ICE agents," he said. "I'm proud to be the first governor to stand up to Donald Tump's heinous Muslim ban. I'm proud to be a person who not only talks about Dreamers, but one of the first to help them get a college education so they can realize their dreams."

I think it's fair to say that, so far, among the lower-polling candidates, Castro is the only one who seems to be having a moment. Tough exchange with O'Rourke, answers that seem to be garnering positive attention online. Not getting cut off by other candidates or the moderators.

Julián Castro entered the night with a relatively low profile and slim polling averages. But the former Obama-era HUD secretary's sharp, forceful comments about immigration could significantly raise his national profile.

The last Senate immigration bill “brings the debt down by 158 billion," Sen. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., said on Wednesday night, referring to the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill that passed the Senate in 2013.

This is mostly true, according to a contemporaneous analysis by the Congressional Budget Office.

To be sure: this number is about the change in deficit, not the overall debt. The debt would have simply risen at a lower pace should the bill have become law. 

After fiery and passionate answers on health care and immigration, responses to questions on Iran provide a bit of a breather. There's broad agreement to get back into Obama's Iran deal or negotiate a new one, but not much debate otherwise.

Cory Booker has started at least two sentences with a striking turn of phrase: "When I'm President of the United States ..."

Well, as Theodor Herzl once said: "If you will it, it is no dream."

But others might not see it that way.

Two candidates who will appear in Thursday night's debate are taking notes:

In one of the sharper exchanges of the night, Castro took on O'Rourke over decriminalizing border crossings. Castro said he's for it and O'Rourke is not. That led to both candidates speaking over each other pointedly. Both of them are from Texas.

"I just think it's a mistake," Castro said. "Beto, if you truly want to change the system, then we have to repeal that section [of federal law]."

Beto: "I'm talking about a comprehensive rewrite of our immigration laws."

In response to a question about the crisis at the nation's Southern border, Castro called for a number of immediate and long-term policy changes. Among them: an end to "metering."

That was a reference to the Trump administration's practice of limiting the number of people who may make formal asylum claims on any given day at the U.S., Mexico border and enter the United Staates.

As a result, thousands of people feeling violence and poverty in Mexico, Guatemala, El Salvador and other Central American countries have become "stuck" at locations near the border awaiting an opportunity to make an asylum claim. 

The Massachusetts senator, a debate champ in high school, is using her abundant air time to hit her marks on delivering policy messages.

Before the debate, here’s what one of her campaign aides said about her goal: “The economy and Washington aren't working for far too many people, and this first Democratic primary debate is a chance for Elizabeth to talk to a larger audience about her plan to do something about it through big, structural change. She is fighting to make sure our government works not just for the wealthy and well-connected but for everyone.”

And here’s what she said in her first answer to a question: “Who is this economy really working for? It’s doing great for a thinner and thinner slice at the top. … That is corruption pure and simple. We need to call it out, we need to attack it head on and we need to make structural change in our government, in our economy and in our country.”

Later, Warren was quick to explain why she supports a Medicare for All plan that would eliminate private insurance.

“I understand there are a lot of politicians who say it’s just not possible,” she said. “What they’re really telling you is they just won’t fight for it. Health care is a basic human right, and I will fight for basic human rights.”

The lines echo what she’s said on the campaign trail — and that’s the point. She was ready to answer questions with the responses she wanted to use.

As of now, Warren has garnered a whopping 189,000 tweets and counting since the debate started. Beto is in second place with over 80,000 tweets, with most coming from memes of him speaking in Spanish. De Blasio, Booker and Klobuchar are also trending with tens of thousands of tweets. 

The former housing secretary pointed to the Trump administration's metering policy as what “prompted” the father and daughter who were found dead Monday to cross the Rio Grande illegally. 

This is true, according to reports. The Associated Press reported that the man and 23-month-old daughter from El Salvador who drowned in the Rio Grande attempted to cross illegally after being told they would have to wait weeks to claim asylum — part of a Trump administration policy called "metering." They had waited in Mexico for two months without being able to request asylum from U.S. authorities, according to the photographer for the Mexican newspaper La Jornada.

Metering was instituted last year, and requires migrants to wait weeks or months on the Mexican side of the border before being allowed to make their claims of asylum to U.S. authorities.

Warren's point about coverage for a full range of reproductive health care is important. 1) Those options are weak in many of the same states where abortion policy is changing. 2) It appeals to a wider group of women, not all of whom consider themselves prochoice.

Jay Inslee touted his record on reproductive rights, telling the crowd he was the only contender on stage who had signed a law protecting women's access to abortion procedures.

Amy Klobuchar seemed amused.

"There's three women up here who have fought pretty hard for a woman's right to choose," Klobuchar said.

The crowd erupted in applause.

With the debate turning to health care, some of the first heated exchanges of the debate broke out.

DeBlasio jumped in just as O’Rourke finished saying that he would still support giving Americans a choice between private and public health insurance.

DeBlasio was one of only two of the candidates — along with Warren — to say that they would support Medicare for all and the end of private health insurance. Warren took the rest of the candidates to task for their answer, saying that they would not fight for health care.

While Warren and DeBlasio embraced the most progressive position, the candidates broadly emphasized the need to figure out a way to make sure all Americans have access to healthcare and health insurance, but not without a bit more cross-talk as the candidates looked to jump in on the hot-button issue.

O’Rourke dodged Savannah Guthrie’s question about whether he would support a 70 percent top marginal individual income tax rate for earners making $10 million a year or more — a proposal made by Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y.

“This economy has got to work for everyone and right now we know it isn’t,” O’Rouke said at the start of a response that never addressed either that proposal or what top marginal rate he would support.

When Guthrie gave him a second chance, he declined again to support or oppose the 70 percent mark.

“I would support a tax rate and a tax code that was fair to everyone," he said.

Asked if they would abandon their own private health insurance in favor of government-run health care, only Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio raised their hands of the 10 candidates on Wednesday night's debate stage.

The senator is right.

In a recent NPR/Marist poll, 77 percent of Americans said Roe v. Wade, the landmark decision affirming the right to abortion nationwide, shouldn’t be overturned.

In the same survey, 60 percent of Americans said they were more likely to support state laws that decriminalize abortion and make abortion laws less strict. Other polls have shown fewer Americans supporting Roe v. Wade, though a majority of Americans do support it remaining the law of the land.

“In Texas, the single largest provider of mental health care services is the county jail system," former Texas Rep. Beto O'Rourke said.

This is true, according to an analysis out of the University of Texas at Austin's Center for Health and Social Policy, which cited data from 2015.

Sen. Amy Klobuchar was asked about plans some of her rivals have proposed to provide free college. She said, "I do get concerned about paying for college for rich kids."

She did not mention any of her rivals by name, but she could have been referring to Sen. Elizabeth Warren.

Warren has released a comprehensive college debt plan that proposes providing free public college for all Americans and cancelling up to $50,000 in student debt for more than 40 million Americans. Some critics have said that because the free public college proposal is not tied to income, it benefits families who can afford to pay for public college.

This is true — earlier this year Inslee, the governor of Washington, became the first in the U.S. to sign into law a measure that would make a so-called public option for health insurance available for sale on the state’s health insurance exchange. But some experts have said it's not a pure public option.

Under Washington's model, called Cascade Care, the state will still contract with private health insurers for plans, but will control the terms to manage costs, experts explained to NPR earlier this year. That has left many to wonder whether the plan is really a “public option,” defined by many as an insurance option created by the government to compete with private insurers.

Less than 10 minutes into the Democratic debate, three candidates on stage rejected one of the prevailing mantras of the Trump era: political correctness is an unnecessary burden or affront to American values rather than a reflection of what it means to live in an increasingly diverse society.

While addressing growing inequality in the United States, Sen. Elizabeth Warren used the term "Latinx," a gender neutral term that has, in some circles, come to replace the word "Latino."

Within moments, Sen. Cory Booker and former Rep. Beto O'Rourke , offered their own thoughts on the matter in Spanish. O'Rourke , a fluent Spanish speaker who represented Texas’ 16th Congressional District, managed more than Booker’s few lines.

This is false. The top 1 percent actually controls about 40 percent of the nation's wealth, according to a 2017 paper by economist Edward N. Wolff who used data from the federal Survey of Consumer Finances.

Ryan may have been to be trying to reference a surprising stat from that same paper: the fact that the top 1 percent of American households own more wealth than bottom 90 percent.

CORRECTION (JUNE 27, 12:34 a.m. ET): An earlier version of this article misquoted Rep. Tim Ryan in one reference to wealth, which changes the assessment of his statement from true to false. He said that the top 1 percent of American households controls 90 percent of the nation's wealth; he did not say that the top 1 percent of American households owns more wealth than the bottom 90 percent. (His statement is false, according to a 2017 paper by economist Edward N. Wolff that found that the top 1 percent controls about 40 percent of the nation's wealth.)

In their opening answers, top-tier contenders Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker and Amy Klobuchar took dead aim at economic inequality and what they characterized as a financial system that favors the rich and leaves struggling working-class families behind.

Warren, who has called for the most dramatic and sweeping financial reforms, including a new tax on wealth, blasted an economic order that she says has been rigged for the wealthy and powerful.

Klobuchar, asked to respond to Warren's free college plan, said: "I do get concerned about paying for college for rich kids. I do."

Booker, for his part, lamented corporate consolidation and suggested America's biggest firms should be broken up with antitrust enforcement.

The backdrop for all this economic populism: President Trump regularly touts a strong economy, but the Democratic contenders want to put the focus on working-class Americans who they say have been forgotten.

“We’ve been addressing income inequality in New York City by raising wages by raising benefits by putting money back in the hands of working people. 15 dollars minimum wage. Paid sick days. Pre-K for all. Things that we’re doing are making a huge difference in working people’s lives," de Blasio said.

De Blasio has certainly talked about getting a lot of progressive things done. And while he definitely has, many other key progressive policy accomplishments have come as a result of action by Albany, not City Hall. 

For example, implementing a $15 minimum wage in New York City for most businesses — while championed by de Blasio — was the product of a statewide roll-out of increased minimum wages.

On the other hand, de Blasio’s signature campaign promise back in 2013 was providing universal pre-kindergarten, and funding it with a tax for the city’s super-wealthy. He enacted universal pre-K — and it’s wildly popular — but not with a wealth tax, which Democratic Gov. Andrew Cuomo would not sign off on. Cuomo, however, found other state funds to pay for the program, which has grown to cover 3-year-olds in recent years.

In 2014, de Blasio signed into law a bill that required employers with at least five workers to offer five paid sick days a year. And in January, de Blasio released a plan that would guarantee 10 days of paid vacation for nearly all workers in New York City and another plan that would help workers save for retirement.

Asked about corporate mega-mergers, and whether he would call out those companies, Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he had no problem naming companies like Amazon that pay "nothing" in taxes.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts has made this claim previously, as well, and it's true for federal taxes, according to an analysis of corporate filings put out by the progressive think tank Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP.)  

The analysis did not review state and local taxes, however.

The candidates walked out onto the stage wearing either purple (Warren's jacket, De Blasio's tie), red (Booker's tie, Klobuchar's shirt, Gabbard's jacket) or blue (ties of Ryan, Castro, Delaney, O'Rourke).

But Inslee, whose campaign is focused on climate change, is wearing a green tie. 

Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg, the 37-year-old two-term mayor of South Bend, Indiana, doesn't take the stage until Thursday night. But he has made headlines in recent days amid unrest in his city over the fatal shooting of a black man by a white police sergeant.

In the latest development, the family of the shooting victim — 54-year-old Eric Jack Logan — filed a lawsuit Wednesday against the police officer and the city in federal court, according to The Associated Press. The lawsuit accuses Sgt. Ryan O'Neill of using excessive deadly force when he shot Logan on June 16. The suit also names the city of South Bond as a defendant, but it does not name Buttigieg, the AP reported.

The public outrage over Logan's death has threatened to overshadow Buttigieg's presidential ambitions, potentially halting his meteoric ascent from obscure Midwestern mayor to top-tier contender. He faced shout-downs, heckling and profanity at a contentious town hall over the weekend.

But in almost 20 interviews across South Bend this week, most locals offered more muted and even-handed criticism of their mayor, and some applauded him for taking a break from the campaign trail to focus on the crisis back home. In conversations, many African American residents expressed far more anger about long-standing issues of racial injustice and economic inequality in their town.

"It didn't start with Pete," one lifelong resident of the city told NBC News.

The president's campaign isn't taking the night off.

Ads from Donald J. Trump for President Inc., the president's official re-election committee, are showing up on the homepage for YouTube.

The Google-owned video platform is one of the most visited pages on the internet, making its homepage banner particularly valuable real estate. Earlier today, Trump railed against Google and other tech companies, claiming that they are "full of Democrats."

The candidates won't need to do much to warm up in Miami.

According to John Morales, chief meteorologist at WTVJ, the NBC News affiliate in Miami, the city has experienced four consecutive days of record heat.

We'll see if any candidate brings it up in reference to global warming...

Back in April 2016, the last time the Democrats held a presidential debate, tech companies were still on the good side of the public and most of Washington.

A little more than three years later, American tech giants are the subject of a full-on political barrage from regulators, elected officials and presidential hopefuls. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., led the charge with a call to break up some of the so-called FANG companies — Facebook, Amazon and Google (not so much Netflix) — and to create new rules that prevent them from using their power to hurt smaller competitors.

The Democrats have plenty to talk about, but tech policy very well could end up a talking point tonight, particularly as the debaters look to differentiate themselves on a crowded stage.

Amanda Carpenter, a former staffer for Sen. Ted Cruz, makes a good point — could the winner of tonight's debate be up to the internet?

And in particular, could it come down to the most meme-able moment?

We've already seen the power that the internet has in driving the media cycle and elevating its favorite candidates, especially Andrew Yang and his Yang Gang.

RNC deputy communications director Cassie Smedile talks to NBC News about the GOP efforts during the Democratic debates.

With 10 candidates on stage Wednesday night, it may be hard for some to rise to the occasion. 

But luckily, the candidates can use risers. And three are taking advantage of that. 

NBC News took a look behind the lecterns ahead of Wednesday night’s debate and spotted a large riser behind Julián Castro’s spot and two smaller ones behind Tulsi Gabbard’s and Amy Klobuchar’s spots.

They could come in handy, especially for Castro, who will be standing next to the 6-foot-4 Tim Ryan and one more spot over from the 6-foot-5 Bill de Blasio — a trait the New York City mayor has admitted he’ll use to his advantage. 

Asked earlier this month by reporters in Iowa how he planned to stand out at the debate, he replied, "Well, I'm taller than all of them, so that’s the first strategy."

The stage is set for night one of the debates. Here’s a primer on the candidates and the issues.

Related

Politics

PoliticsHere's who has center stage for the first Democratic debate

NBC News politics reporter Jon Allen checks in with some scenes outside the debate hall, complete with an array of supporters, protesters, and more.

President Donald Trump plans to watch the first of the Democratic debates Wednesday night while on a plane headed for the G-20 summit in Japan — but he's not looking forward to it.

"It just seems very boring, but I'm going to watch it because I have to," he said Wednesday morning during an almost 50-minute live phone interview on Fox Business Network. "This is part of my life."

He continued to downplay the Democrats during the phone call, casting the candidates as a "very unexciting group of people."

The president stopped short of saying he planned to live-tweet during the debate, and the only challenger he mentioned by name was Biden, calling him "a lost soul."

Politicians tend to be long-winded, but brevity will be the name of the game on the crowded stage tonight. Candidates will have 60 seconds to answer questions and 30 seconds to respond to follow-ups. And there will be no opening statements, though candidates will have a chance to deliver closing remarks.

With so many candidates, there's only so much time to go around.

"It's a little bit of exaggeration calling it a debate," former Vice President Joe Biden, who hits the debate stage Thursday night, joked in Iowa earlier this month. "It's like a lightning round."

For many lesser-known candidates, the debates will their first chance to introduce themselves to a larger national audience, so they know they have to try to pack a lot into a small amount of time. And for some better-known candidates, it might mean having to defend controversial policies or parts of their records quickly in order to give them enough time to try to finish with something positive.

They have to introduce themselves to the country, contrast themselves with the other candidates, make the case for why they should be the next leader of the free world and not make any embarrassing mistakes — and their campaigns estimate they'll each have about 10 minutes to do so.

Here's a look at how the 10 candidates participating in the first night of the Democratic debate prepared for the main event.

Rep. Joaquín Castro, D-Texas, says the best thing his twin brother, 2020 Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro, can do at tonight’s debate is “be himself.”

“People quite honestly still need to get to know him. There’s still a large percentage of people who don’t know who he is,” Castro told NBC News ahead the first Democratic presidential debate Wednesday night. 

“He’s been a leader on so many issues during his campaign: on immigration, on police reform, on housing,” he said, responding to a question about how brother will differentiate himself on a stage with nine other candidates. “He’s going to continue to be a candidate of great substance and continue to talk about building opportunity for all Americans.”

Castro also said his brother will talk directly to Latinos watching the debates.

“This president has really targeted the Latino community and immigrants. There will be millions of Latinos watching tonight, and I think they want to hear they are fundamentally part of the country, which they are, and how this country creates opportunity for everybody,” said Castro, who along with his brother is of Mexican descent. “My brother Julián is going to be talking about that.”

Beto O'Rourke's critics say there's not much steak with his sizzle and they've bristled at the attention he got early in the campaign when women senators with longer records of accomplishment were ignored by comparison. The former Texas congressman's supporters say he can go deep on policy with anyone and point to recent proposals as evidence.

Now, standing between Elizabeth Warren and Amy Klobuchar, he'll literally be between two sharp-witted women with unquestioned command of substance.

If O'Rourke looks like he belongs, that'll be a victory of sorts for him. But there's a chance they strip the bark off him just by being themselves.

Just hours ahead of Wednesday's Democratic primary debate in Miami, Democratic National Committee chairman Tom Perez said that it "wouldn't surprise me at all" if Montana Gov. Steve Bullock qualified for the next debate but said he couldn't have changed the rules to allow the red-state governor onto the initial stage.

"Wouldn't surprise me at all if Gov. Bullock is on stage at the next debate because he's a great candidate who has a remarkable vision," Perez said. "You can't change the rules midway because I like someone. I like Gov. Bullock a lot and that's not a reason to change the rules you put forth and everybody follows."

Bullock did not qualify for the initial debate after he failed to hit either the polling or donation standard set by the DNC. He had hoped that a Washington Post/ABC poll would count toward his qualification, but the DNC said that poll would not count in its decision-making.

Instead of partaking in the debate, Bullock is holding a televised town hall in Iowa.

Perez was also asked if he was concerned about any of the Democratic candidates on Wednesday's stage going after each other in an attempt to boost their own candidacy. Perez said he expects that "everybody is going to make sure people know what they stand for.

Ten candidates — led by Elizabeth Warren, Beto O’Rourke, Amy Klobuchar and Cory Booker — will participate tonight beginning at 9 pm ET. And the second 10 — led by Joe Biden, Bernie Sanders, Kamala Harris and Pete Buttigieg — go on Thursday.

Tonight, we’ll be watching how Warren handles being the night’s frontrunner. The Massachusetts senator has been moving up in the polls. And without Biden or Bernie on the stage, she’s the star attraction — at least on paper. Maybe Warren’s biggest task is handling the high expectations.

But who else will break through, Beto, Booker or Klobuchar? Will it be O’Rourke, who has seen his star fade since his entry in March? Or Booker, who really hasn’t had a moment so far in the 2020 race? Or Klobuchar, who often stands out when she’s on TV.

Six other candidates are on tonight’s debate stage, and they’re vying to survive the higher qualifications before September’s third debate(s): Washington Gov. Jay Inslee, former HUD Secretary Julian Castro, former Rep. John Delaney, Reps. Tulsi Gabbard and Tim Ryan, and New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio.

The network is offering almost as many ways to watch the debates as there are candidates.

The debates begin at 9 p.m. ET and end at 11 p.m. ET Wednesday and Thursday night, with 10 candidates on each night.  Both two-hour debates will be moderated by Savannah Guthrie of “Today,” Lester Holt of “Nightly News,” Jose Diaz-Balart of Telemundo and NBC, Rachel Maddow of MSNBC and Chuck Todd of “Meet the Press.”

NBC News, MSNBC and Telemundo are airing the debate live, with Telemundo broadcasting it in Spanish. It will also stream online for free on NBC News' digital platforms, including NBCNews.com, MSNBC.com, the NBC News Mobile App and OTT apps on Roku, Apple TV and Amazon Fire TV, in addition to Telemundo's digital platforms; it will also stream live and in full on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube.

NBC News NOW, the new streaming news service available through NBC's OTT apps and NBCNews.com, will host an hour-long pre-show and post-show each night, featuring conversations from a student viewing party, a panel of experts, explainers and analysis.

Welcome to NBC News’ liveblog of the first Democratic presidential debate! This is the first night of a two-night event. We'll be live-streaming the full debate here and providing recaps of all the highlights as well as fact checks, real-time reaction and analysis as the 10 candidates on stage go head-to-head tonight starting at 9 p.m. ET.