And I can't find the sources. But I recall at least a few articles about Python performance improvements where the conclusion was along the lines of: "Python core devs prefer to keep the Python runtime implementation simple instead of focusing on performance". It's stuff I've read in the past 15 years or so...
And it wouldn't be unheard of, compare Tannenbaum - Minix <-> Linus - Linux.
What's disturbing is the numbing effect it seems to have. Bad behavior is increasingly on display for all to see -> We're all slowly realizing it's always been this bad, it's just more visible now -> We're kind of just becoming OK with all the noise.
Cf. blatantly wrong statements divorced from reality from major figures on social media, etc.
That said, I'm not sure whether OP is really in that weight class. It's just a "did direction change with a leadership change?" question that can be answered in a straight-forward manner by closer observers or those with first-hand experience. The danger is that others take a possibly wrong narrative forward by taking the question and ignoring the answer, in a "Have you stopped beating your wife?" sort of way.
That innuendo thing you’re doing is all the rage these days.