They might’ve, if General George Washington had told them the Continentals had already won.
The US HAS already won. It just takes time and direction for all the “win pieces” to fall into place. Stop the forward action into that groove, and you’ve “snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.” That’s where this expression comes from.
My previous statement came from the observation that the Republicans’ perennial fear keeps them from a willingness to go as far as necessary for the process to be complete.
But let’s look at your reference. IMO, President Trump is like General George Washington in that famous portrayal of the latter’s crossing the Delaware: standing tall and strong, with eyes straight ahead. Trump is more determined than Iran, and will never quit. I’m certain of this because Trump fights for the good of mankind.
Additionally, there’s what a very feeble Mike Johnson says, and then there’s what a bullet hitting an ear says. When a man realizes that he’s still alive after the bullet has spoken, he gets a really big perspective of good and evil, and the part he must play - at that point, Johnson’s message rates only a shrug and a dispassionate “Who’s he?”