Jeb Bush called Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE an “ass---” in a private conversation with a donor, according to a new report.

Bush also insulted the billionaire by saying he is a “buffoon” and a “clown,” according to Politico.

ADVERTISEMENT

The former Florida governor will be standing next to the business mogul when the two Republican candidates face off at Thursday night's debate with eight other GOP White House hopefuls.

Trump is the GOP frontrunner, as several national polls show him leading Bush. His campaign did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Bush and Trump have repeatedly battled since Trump entered the race in June, most notably when the reality television star suggested that Bush backs immigration reform because his wife was born in Mexico.

Bush countered by arguing that Trump paints a false picture of GOP values during remarks made last month.

“I don’t think he represents the Republican Party, and his views are way outside the mainstream of what most Republicans think,” Bush told reporters during two Independence Day parades in New Hampshire. “No one suggests that we shouldn’t control our borders,” he said. “Everybody has a belief that we should control our borders. “But to make these extraordinarily ugly kind of comments is not reflective of the Republican Party,” Bush added. “Trump is wrong on this.” Trump responded by criticizing Bush as “out of touch” with Republican voters on the issues of border security and illegal immigration. “Just like the simple question asked of Jeb on Iraq — where it took him five days and multiple answers to get right — he doesn’t understand anything about the border or border security,” Trump said on July Fourth. “In fact, Jeb believes that illegal immigrants who break our laws when they cross our border come ‘out of love,’ ” he added. Trump has weathered months of international outrage after criticizing Mexico and illegal immigrants during his 2016 campaign launch in June. “They’re sending people who have a lot of problems,” Trump said on June 16 from New York City’s Trump Tower. “They’re bringing drugs. They’re bringing crime. They’re rapists,” he added. “And some, I assume, are good people.” The most recent RealClearPolitics average of national polling results has Trump scoring 24.3 percent versus Bush’s 12.5.

The story was updated at 11:47 a.m.