After delivering his victory speech, Trump worked his way through a crowd of supporters directly in front of the stage before disappearing through a side door, stage left.

Michael Lindell: Forever etched in my mind will be Rudy Giuliani hugging me and saying, "Wow, he won! He did it!" And then Mr. Trump came down and thanked us all, went right down the line.

Erik Prince: I remember texting congratulations to Steve [Bannon]. I said to Steve, "Congratulations, where are you?" And he said, "I'm going to bed, I have a meeting at 8 o'clock tomorrow."

Matt Sheldon: My wife was in Russia, so I remember speaking on the phone. I guess the people in Russia were very happy; they wanted Trump to win. I remember her family was very happy. It was probably three in the morning where we were.

"Was this really happening? I remember asking myself, being so stunned by the fact.” —Chris Wallace

Matt Mowers: Most of us stayed back [at Trump Tower] during the speech, just trying to really go through and figure out what the exact margins were, figure out what the exact states were. Stepien, Clark, Rick Dearborn, me, Wells, a few others, just to see where the final chips were going to fall in some places, because we also had to make sure that Democrat state parties weren't going to try to file recounts.

But it's funny. Then a few of us walked over. I think it was probably around 3 A.M. or whenever he was finishing his speech. We walked over to the Hilton finally and walked through it. I remember seeing Kellyanne in the lobby still.

3:19 A.M.—Trump and his inner circle descend to a garage area, where the president-elect's motorcade awaits. Far from the cameras and crowds, the group engages in a final, private celebration.

Katrina Pierson: [Trump] waved at me, pulled me over, said thank you, and then gave me a hug, a kiss on the cheek.

Don Jr. was standing there, and he was shaking hands and giving people hugs and just thanking everybody that was around him at that moment. He looked relieved. There was a sense of relief that it was over.

3:29 A.M.—Trump arrives home at Trump Tower, where he takes a call from the White House. On the line is President Obama, who has phoned to offer his congratulations to the new president-elect.

Scottie Nell Hughes: I went straight over to CNN to do New Day the following morning. They start New Day at 3 A.M. I went on live with them, and that was probably one of the hardest segments I've ever done, because I was facing Hilary Rosen. I sincerely felt she was scared as a member of the LGBTQ community. She was scared of President Trump. And I had to go on air and comfort her and tell her she had nothing to fear with President Trump being elected.

That was one of the most heartfelt moments I've ever had to do on television, because I did get to see the fear that they felt. And I did get to see the tears in the green room, where I knew that if Trump had lost, those same [people] would have probably been, like I said, tap dancing on our graves.

Bret Baier: We convinced a bar a couple blocks away to stay open, even though they were closing down, an Irish place right around the block from headquarters. We just all had a beer and toasted the night being a broadcast success and how surreal the whole thing was, and then I remember telling people that night, "Well, at least now it will slow down." I was wrong.

Matt Mowers: A bunch of us went to the Whiskey Trader that night. They kept it open. They maybe did last call 15 minutes later, so everyone could pack up their drinks.