realistic perspective on trump administrations limitations

I've been seeing a lot of people completely giving up hope, saying that trump and his billionaire friends will break the democracy and gain completely unchecked powers, and others saying not to worry the checks and balances will prevent him from achieving most of his plans. I know the general outlook of the world is quite bleak, but it would give me some hope knowing that the end isn't that near. It doesn't seem productive to bury my head in the sand and tell myself theres no danger, and it doesn't seem productive to be in an panic constantly. Could someone with a better understanding than I have of the american political system give me a grounded perspective on what stands in his way, what kinds of things are or are not immediate concerns. (does anyone really know?)