''A spectrum of hostility': Hillary Clinton rips GOP for giving Trump's anti-immigrant rants a pass

Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton chided Republicans for seemingly deferring to Donald Trump's views on immigration in footage released by CNN on Tuesday ahead of an interview that will be aired later in the day.

"I'm very disappointed in those comments," Clinton said regarding Trump's allegations regarding undcoumented Mexican immigrants. "I feel very bad and very disappointed with him and the Republican Party for not responding immediately and saying: 'Enough. Stop it.' But they are all in the same general area on immigration."

Many conservatives have come to Trump's defense ever since he opened his presidential campaign by accusing Mexico of sending rapists and criminals to the US. Clinton noted that the former reality TV star has contributed to both her charitable foundation and her Senate campaign, but also said that Republicans in general are either "grudgingly" welcoming toward immigrants or outright hostile toward them.

The former secretary of state also knocked Trump's top competition in GOP polls, ex-Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, who has distanced himself from Trump's rhetoric.

"He doesn't believe in a path to citizenship. If he did at one time, he no longer does," Clinton said. "As I said, they're on a spectrum of hostility -- which I think is really regrettable in a nation of immigrants like ours -- all the way to kind of grudging acceptance but refusal to go with a pathway to citizenship."

As CNN reported last month, Bush has pushed for offering "legal status" for undocumented immigrants, which has brought about criticism from immigration advocates, including a protest by the activist group United We Dream.

"The next president will pass meaningful immigration reform so that will be resolved -- not by executive order," Bush said during the protest.

Watch Clinton's remarks, as posted by CNN on Tuesday, below.