Frequent MSNBC guest Donny Deutsch began to say Friday he would vote for President Donald Trump over a socialist from the Democratic Party but backed down after loud objections by Morning Joe host Joe Scarborough.

After the block's previous guest, 2020 candidate and former Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper (D.), repeatedly wouldn't say he was a capitalist under repeated questioning by Scarborough, the former Republican mourned the Democratic Party could be in a crisis. Co-host Willie Geist agreed it was a statement of where the party was, when a successful businessman like Hickenlooper was afraid to use the word for fear of offending the party's left flank.

"Trump is going to devour every one of these candidates if they can't say they support capitalism," Scarborough said, adding capitalism is in constant need of reform.

"My God, if you're afraid to say you're a capitalist in America, I'm just going to tell you … If that is a crisis for your party, you're going to lose in 2020," he said.

"Joe, I'm going to take it one step further," Deutsch said. "I find Trump reprehensible as a human being, but a socialist candidate is more dangerous to this country as far as the strength and well-being of our country than Donald Trump. I would vote for Donald Trump, a despicable human being—"

"No, you won't," Scarborough said. "Stop yourself."

"Let me correct myself, thank you, Joe," Deutsch said.

"You will never vote for a bigot, a guy that's made bigoted statement for the past three years," Scarborough said.

Deutsch corrected himself to say he would be "so distraught" if the Democrats nominated a socialist, because it would take the country "so down."

Both men have had a complicated relationship with Trump. Deutsch once called him a friend and appeared on The Apprentice, but during Trump's political rise, he's come to call him a "dictator," "evil," and "a pig," who could lead the country to civil war.

Scarborough offered Trump debate advice during the 2016 primary season at one point and said he trusted him more than a "bunch of kids" in Washington to turn around the economy. Rolling Stone called him and co-host Mika Brzezinski Trump's "lapdogs" at one point and the closeness of the trio caused reported discomfit at NBC. He even briefly flirted with being Trump's running mate.

He and Brzezinski are now two of Trump's most voracious critics at MSNBC.