As other commenters have pointed out, we are fortunate in some ways that Trump was only able to generate a movement that he then had no idea what to do with. He had the support to begin a literal coup and failed to do so (this time round). It's unclear whether he will run again in 4 years time, but he might not need to. If his loyal contingency within the Republican party were paying attention, they would have seen that there are millions of Americans who's view of 'democracy' and 'freedom' is malleable to say the least: all you need is something to scare them and something to anger them.

I share your optimism for now but only cautiously. There's always a calm before the storm.