 November 8, 2016. At 10 p.m., I made one last circuit of the newsroom. Our CEO, Mark Thompson, stood near the political desk, looking on with his wife and a small group of others connected somehow to the Times. Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, and Michigan remained in doubt, but the reality was sinking in. Donald Trump was on a verge of winning the American presidency. I'd been in newsrooms on election nights before. I know how it's supposed to be. The only thing that ever mattered was the horse race, think Gore Bush, or the historic moment, think Obama-McCain.