What changed is reaching the tipping point: very little changed, causing everything to start changing very fast. Maybe it’s just his ego figuring out that things are as bad as he’s been insinuating, maybe it’s that enough Leftist bullying has accumulated to the point of unavoidable civil war (regardless of who wins: the bullies won’t let go if they lose, and the victims will start fighting back if the bullies win).
Tipping point is a good phrase. Maybe some of his “friends” finally called him on his word games and threatened him personally. After all, a conservative is often a liberal who got mugged.