It kept him out of office for four years. It could have more impact.
As bad as Trump is (and he's bad) he's still nowhere near as bad as Xi is.
Let's look at the Six Defining Characteristics of Totalitarianism (Friedrich and Brzezinski, 1956):
* An elaborate guiding ideology [typcially focused around patriotism and loyalty to the state above all else]
* A single political party, typically led by a dictator
* Use of instruments of terror such as violence and secret police to control the population
* A government monopoly on weapons
* A government monopoly on means of communication (such as state-controlled media and heavy censorship)
* A state-controlled economy
In none of those categories is the United States as far along as the PRC under Xi. At least one of those categories would require a large amount of bloodshed for the US to reach the level that China is.
