Wishful thinking at play. You were lucky that your wannabe dictator was lazy and unorganized and still you have got a near miss with a cult of personality and a party that is nearly ready to follow him in his coup. And if they believed a bit more in his organization ability they would not hesitate even now.
The next Republican President if he chose not to stir outrage but, but quietly with an air of respectability dismantle the system will do it in one term.
This is not a sign of “the system works”. It’s a sign of “you have got lucky”, and people who require getting lucky to get by are destined to fail.