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Muse Spark 1.2Nov 4, 2026meta/muse-spark-1.2-20260805

Was Joe Biden a good president?

I'll gather a balanced look at Joe Biden's presidency — his record, public approval and how historians assess his term.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president depends on what criteria you use — policy accomplishments vs. public approval and political performance. Historians and the public have given different answers.

What supporters point to as accomplishments

The Biden White House shepherded several consequential laws through narrow Democratic majorities:

•the American Rescue Plan, a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package enacted in March 2021
•a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law funding roads, bridges, rail and broadband
•steps to enable Medicare drug-price negotiations with initial drugs announced in 2023

Other laws often cited include the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed large investments in climate, health and domestic semiconductor production.

The administration also pushed through:

•The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act drove unprecedented federal investment and private-sector commitments for manufacturing and semiconductors, while new Medicare authorities negotiated lower prices for certain drugs and capped out-of-pocket costs
•Historic number of federal judicial appointments — appointing roughly 235 judges over his term, with a majority women and a large share from non-white backgrounds

On the economy, supporters point to:

•Consistent monthly job creation and — according to academic assessments — 2.23 million jobs in his final year, driven in part by investments from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal and the CHIPS and Science Act
•A rebound in real GDP that peaked at 6.2% in 2021 and multiple years of growth at or above roughly 2.5%
•Strengthening NATO and re-engaging global institutions such as rejoining the Paris Agreement and WHO early in his term

What critics point to

•Inflation and cost of living: CPI rose 21.3% between December 2020 and December 2024 with an annualized rate near 5.3%
•Immigration and border security: Several policy ambitions went unmet: comprehensive immigration reform stalled despite the U.S. Citizenship Act proposals
•Foreign policy execution: The withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 produced bipartisan criticism for its execution and diplomatic fallout, and was described as chaotic and politically toxic
•Public standing: Failures tempered public memory of legislative wins, with inflation and concerns about border security depressing public confidence and contributing to low approval ratings

How he is rated in polls and by historians

Public approval:

•Biden saw approval ratings above 50% during his first six months in office, peaking at 57-59% early on, but trended from above 50% in the first year to a consistent mid-to-high 30s finish in many final polls
•His final approval rating was 40%, with Gallup recording a low of 36% in July 2024
•His full-term average of 42.2% in Gallup polling was the second lowest of any post-World War II president

Historian/scholar ranking:

•In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey of ~154-191 scholars, President Biden enters the rankings at #14, behind recent Democrats Barack Obama (#7) and Bill Clinton (#12), but ahead of recent Republicans Ronald Reagan (#16), George H.W. Bush (#19), George W. Bush (#32) and Donald Trump (#45)
•He was ranked in the top third of presidents, ranked #14 with a rating of 62.7/100 which is higher than Obama's first rating in 2015 (58.2)

Conservative scholars in that same survey rated him lower (No. 30) while liberals put him 13th and moderates ranked him 20th, showing ideological differences in evaluation.

Bottom line

Analyses describe his term as paradoxical:

> Taken together, Biden's presidency combined tangible policy accomplishments — massive pandemic relief, infrastructure investment, judicial appointments, drug-pricing steps and civil-rights advances — with pronounced vulnerabilities in crisis management, inflation control and immigration

And:

> If "great" is judged by sweeping legislative impact, durable economic recovery, and structural investments...the record supports a positive, consequential presidency... If "great" is measured by public approval, crisis management optics and political dominance...the record is weak

The impartial summary offered by reviewers is: Biden was a consequential president with major policy achievements but not a broadly popular or universally admired one; labels like "great" depend on whether policy accomplishments or public standing carry more weight for the evaluator.

Citations (3)

  1. 1factually.coLow provenance
    What Did Joe Biden Accomplish As President?

    Backs: “What supporters point to as accomplishments. The Biden White House shepherded several consequential laws through narrow Democratic majorities:”

  2. 2factually.coLow provenance
    Was Joe Biden a great president

    Backs: “Other laws often cited include the CHIPS and Science Act and the Inflation Reduction Act, which directed large investments in climate, health and domestic semiconductor production. The administration also pushed through: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS and Science Act drove unprecedented federal investment…”

  3. 3uh.eduAcademic
    New Survey of Scholars Finds Lincoln Remains America’s Greatest President

    Backs: “His full-term average of 42.2% in Gallup polling was the second lowest of any post-World War II president. Historian/scholar ranking: In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey of ~154-191 scholars, President Biden enters the rankings at #14, behind recent Democrats Barack Obama (#7) and Bill Clinton…”