'We Are in a Constitutional Crisis': MSNBC Guest Explains How Trump and GOP Have Brought the Country to the Brink

Politics Editor Jason Johnson of the Root argued Monday that President Donald Trump and the GOP-controlled Congress have brought the country to a constitutional crisis as the president floats the idea of pardoning himself and attacks against special counsel Robert Mueller.

"I've said this about this president all along: The Constitution wasn't written for a president like this. It was written for a moral man or woman. It was written for someone who had a sense of shame. It was written for parties, and organizations, and branches that didn't want to see their power usurped," Johnson said on MSNBC's "Deadline: White House" with host Nicolle Wallace.

"Everything in political science and history tells us Congress is battling with the president to make sure he doesn' usurp their power," he continued. "And yet we have this Congress that is perfectly happy to lay down and whatever it is he wants."

While some Republicans have warned that going after Mueller or crossing certain other red lines could lead to Trump's impeachment, they have been wary about taking almost any practical steps to reign in his power or investigate his apparent wrongdoing. This inaction has seemed to allow Trump to continue to push the boundaries of acceptable presidential behavior.

Johnson added: “We are in a constitutional crisis because no one’s doing their one job! And we don't know what the answer will be if the president finally pulls the trigger, gets rid of Mueller, says he's going to pardon himself. "

"We literally have no textbooks for this," he said. "That's why we're in crisis."

Watch the clip below.