It's natural that this should happen. When he came back and got us back to this point in like 3 years AGAIN, what else can the media say about him in terms of being overrated? Nothing.
Also, he was all grandpa-y and joke-y with the media while he was "retired," so they all think he's like their harmless neighbor with the immaculate lawn now, as opposed to Mr. Burns, Media Hater.