It seems more recent, at least to me

In years past, they were fine with criticizing their leadership, they even kind of enjoyed it; doing so helped make them look more 'educated' and 'impartial' than their conservative counterparts. Something changed with Trump, 'vote blue no matter who' really got taken to heart, and now making even the most milquetoast criticism is seen as an indictment on you and an indicator that you are stupid or a Russian asset or a conservative