Well, no... not unprecedented at all. They did the very same thing to Bush(es), and to Reagan.
They've done it to every Pubbie elected official since FDR.
Even Eisenhower, who was a war hero, who integrated southern schools at gunpoint, and was about as moderate a Republican as they come, was depicted by many media figures as some sort of semi-evil figure.
Nixon and Goldwater really came in for heavy artillery barrage from the liberal press. We were told that Goldwater was a lunatic and couldn't wait to start WWIII. They even corralled a group of shrinks who pronounced Goldwater as certifiably crazy.
As far as the lib media goes, Pubbie presidents will never be treated fair, and Dem presidents will always get away with bloody murder. That's the way things are.