After weeks of criticizing by characterizing him as a racist demagogue, MSNBC’s Joe Scarborough stepped on the Trump train Friday, defending the real-estate mogul's recent pivot into a more measured candidate.

According to Scarborough, the new Donald Trump seen in the past few days, the one who gave that fine speech in Milwaukee, is the authentic Trump while the brassier, "race-baiting buffoon" was just an act. 

"I will say, though, one of the great ironies of this campaign, I've said it here on the show every day, is anybody…anybody that knows Donald knows that that Donald last night was closer to the Donald Trump that we've all known for decades than the character he's playing," said Scarborough. "Because make no mistake of it, make no mistake of it, this loud, screaming, racially insensitive, at times race-baiting buffoon that gets behind microphones at political rallies, that's Donald Trump playing a role."

"I'm just saying, this is an interesting pivot because as he goes to teleprompter," he continued, "he's actually becoming more of the Donald Trump that Donny and Mika and myself and everybody else has known for decades, which is really bizarre, that he's got to go to teleprompter to be more naturally himself."

To further prove his thesis, Scarborough turned to a friend of Donald Trump's, marketing expert Donny Deutsch, asking if he ever personally witnessed racism from the Presidential candidate. 

"Have you, in 20 years of knowing Donald Trump behind closed doors -- and I'm not asking for you to vouch for his character, I'm just trying to make this point -- have you ever heard him say the first thing in private that was close to being racially insensitive. Never, right? Never,” the MSNBC host.

"No, never," replied Deutsch.