Steve Schmidt: If Trump pardons Flynn it will create a 'constitutional crisis' that will end the GOP

GOP strategist Steve Schmidt isn't optimistic about the Republican Congress' potential for impeaching President Donald Trump in the wake of former adviser -- but he believes that if they fail to act properly, they'll dig their own graves in 2018.

"Do you have any confidence that if Donald Trump started pardoning everybody, if he fired [Special Counsel Robert] Mueller, do you really think that the Republican-led congress would impeach Donald Trump or convict Donald Trump?" MSNBC host Nicolle Wallace asked Schmidt during a Friday afternoon segment.

"I don't believe they would, Nicolle, but it would precipitate a constitutional crisis and would cross the line where impeachment would be the only practical remedy to the president's assault on the constitution," Schmidt replied.

"Then what I think would happen is the 2018 election would become a referendum on that question," the Republican strategist and regular MSNBC panelist continued. "I think every Democrat in the country running for office would have to make clear their position on it, and I think that when you look at the electorate, you would see the formation of a broad coalition who stands in opposition to this president's assault on the constitution."

Watch Schmidt explain the ways Republicans will sign their death warrants below, via MSNBC.