Former Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush slammed his party on Saturday for failing to criticize President Donald Trump amid revelations about Russia's meddling in US politics.

Speaking at a cultural festival in New York's Central Park, Bush said that the GOP was hypocritical for its soft treatment of Trump even though it pilloried Barack Obama for not punishing Russia hard enough for interfering in the 2016 election.

'If your opponent does things that … your head explodes on … then when your guy does the same thing, have the same passion to be critical,' Bush told attendees at Ozy Fest.

Bush's remarks at the event, which is hosted by the digital news magazine Ozy, were reported by the New York Post.

Former Florida governor and Republican presidential hopeful Jeb Bush (seen above in New York on Saturday) slammed his party on Saturday for failing to criticize President Donald Trump amid revelations about Russia's meddling in US politics

Bush appeared on a panel with comedienne Samantha Bee (center), billionaire businessman Mark Cuban (second from left), and Carlos Watson (far right) at Ozy Fest 2017 in New York's Central Park on Saturday

In December, then-President Obama ordered the expulsion of 35 Russians over what he said was their involvement in hacking last year's US presidential election, allegations Moscow flatly denies.

The US authorities seized two Russian diplomatic compounds, one in Maryland and another on Long Island, at the same time.

Moscow did not retaliate, saying it would wait to see if relations improved under the incoming president, Trump.

Last month, it was reported in The Washington Post that Trump was moving to return the compounds to Moscow.

Bush said that the GOP was hypocritical for its soft treatment of Trump even though it pilloried Barack Obama (seen above in Baden-Baden, Germany, on May 25) for not punishing Russia hard enough for meddling in the 2016 election

The Kremlin is now demanding that it hand back those compounds while threatening US diplomatic property in Moscow, the daily Kommersant newspaper reported on Friday.

At the time, Republicans slammed Obama's response as insufficient.

The Obama administration formally accused Russia in October of a campaign of cyber attacks against Democratic Party organizations ahead of the Nov. 8 election.

Obama also ordered the seizure of two Russian diplomatic compounds, one in Maryland (above) and another on Long Island, at the same time

The other compound in Long Island is seen above. The Kremlin is now demanding that it hand back those compounds while threatening US diplomatic property in Moscow

In December, Obama ordered intelligence agencies to review cyber attacks and foreign intervention in the election and to deliver a report before he left office on Jan. 20.

Following a Washington Post report last month about the Obama administration's responses to the Russian matter, the top Democrat on the House of Representatives Intelligence Committee, Adam Schiff, criticized the Obama administration for not taking earlier and tougher action against Russia.

Bush, who appeared on a panel with comedienne Samantha Bee and billionaire businessman Mark Cuban, also lamented the lack of civility in modern-day politics.

'Now, strength is measured by how you insult people,' Bush, who ended his 2016 presidential campaign after poor finishes in early primaries, told the crowd.

'Reject it, because we're never going to solve problems that way.'