What’s new about this
They’ve been doing this to Republican candidates probably since Barry Goldwater
The media hasn't changed one bit since Goldwater. Goldwater was treated by the media as a combination of Genghis Khan and Adolf Hitler for opposing the 1964 CR act. They also depicted him as a warmonger who couldn't wait to star nuclear war with Russia.
It was one of the biggest mistakes in American electoral history that LBJ was elected over Goldwater. We have been paying for that since.
I don't think Goldwater would have gotten elected president anyway in the wake of Kennedy's death even if he had supported the CR bill. Goldwater was no racist and had supported pro-CR legislations in Arizona. He just thought that bill was faulty. He was right.