Public hearings on the January 6, 2021, ultra-rightist mob attack on the U.S. Congress are now underway. The facts presented at the hearings offer a reminder that the effort Donald Trump led to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election was far outside the previous norms of U.S. politics.For this reason, we are republishing World-Outlook‘s inaugural article we ran that fateful January. It offers an analysis that largely stands up to the test of time. It outlines the stakes for working people in those events. The issue goes way beyond establishing historic accuracy. It is still likely that Trump will run again for president in 2024. His unfounded and conspiracy-laden claim that the 2020 election was “stolen” still holds a large sway in the base of the Republican Party and among Republican office holders at the federal, state, and local levels. Trump remains the most authoritative leader of the GOP. Over the last year and a half, this much has become clear: Trump has made effective use of the technique of the “big lie” in continuing to insist the 2020 election was “stolen” from him. Many conservative politicians and business executives have accepted and promoted it. Many others are unwilling to challenge it publicly. This suggests that such politicians and pundits may be open to Trump’s course — using cunning and force to change an election outcome, tossing the “rule of law” by the wayside — as a possible solution to late capitalism’s crises that are getting worse under the Biden administration.