While real estate mogul Donald Trump is known for controversial statements, the GOP front-runner's persona may be a strategically formulated facade, according to former Apple CEO John Sculley.

"What Donald does is he understands, just like Steve Jobs did, the master of perception," Sculley told "Closing Bell" on Monday. "He can create something where people don't care about the facts; what they care about is that he's appealing to the disappearing middle class."

The former executive said Monday that Trump's "smarter than the critics are giving him credit for." He predicts that in the scenario where Trump becomes the Republican nominee he will "pivot."

"He will change the perception for himself to be much more presidential; he still won't worry about the facts," Sculley said. "But he will come across much more as a leader and presidential than he's tried to."