Was Joe Biden a good president?

Was Biden a good president? I'll pull his record and recent assessments to give you a balanced answer.

Was Joe Biden a good president is a subjective question, and evaluations depend on political perspective and what criteria you prioritize. Historians, polls, and policy analysis offer mixed but measurable views:

How historians rank him

Historians and presidential scholars generally rate presidents across standardized attributes such as vision, crisis leadership, public persuasion and moral authority via structured surveys.

In those surveys Biden has scored above average, but not near the top tier of presidents like Abraham Lincoln, George Washington and Franklin D. Roosevelt who repeatedly land at the very top:

•In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project, he ranked 14th. That Presidents Day survey of 154 historians and presidential experts placed Joe Biden at about 14th.

•The Siena College Research Institute survey in 2022 ranked him 19th.

Scholars note that Biden’s presidency is still somewhat "in progress" in terms of historical judgment, and rankings are snapshots that can shift over time with new evidence, as with Harry Truman whose standing improved despite low in-office approval.

What supporters point to as accomplishments

The Biden White House (2021-2025) shepherded several consequential laws through narrow Democratic majorities:

•American Rescue Plan - a $1.9 trillion COVID relief package enacted in March 2021

•Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act - a $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law funding roads, bridges, rail and broadband

•Inflation Reduction Act (2022) - described as the most substantial federal investment in climate action in U.S. history, committing $369 billion to clean energy

•CHIPS and Science Act (2022) — reshoring semiconductor manufacturing, along with the Infrastructure Law driving federal investment and private-sector commitments for manufacturing and semiconductors

•Steps to enable Medicare drug-price negotiations with initial drugs announced in 2023

The administration credits related policies with:

•16.6 million jobs created and unemployment below 4% for 28 months

•Overseeing the strongest economic recovery of any G7 nation post COVID-19 and breaking a 70-year record for low unemployment

Supporters also point to speeding up vaccine rollout, expanding Affordable Care Act enrollment, the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act on gun violence, the Respect for Marriage Act, and appointment of Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

What critics point to as failures

•Inflation: At the same time inflation averaged well above the Federal Reserve target during much of his term — CPI rose 21.3% between December 2020 and December 2024 with an annualized rate near 5.3%. Other analysis puts it at averaging 5.4% per year during his time in the White House. Inflation surged to 40-year highs, straining household budgets.

•Afghanistan withdrawal: The withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 produced bipartisan criticism for its execution and diplomatic fallout, described by analysts as chaotic.

•Immigration / Border: Critics cite mass illegal immigration and record-high crossings at the southern border.

•Unity and age concerns: Critics argue that his leadership failed to unite a deeply divided nation and fell short on promises of comprehensive reform. Concerns about Biden's age and health persisted throughout his presidency, and after his performance in the first presidential debate, intensifying scrutiny led him to withdraw his candidacy.

When voters were asked to sum up Biden's presidency in a single word, responses included "Old," "inflation," and "falling", with voters saying he presided over a poor economy, towering prices, and a broken southern border.

Public approval

Biden began his term with over 50% approval ratings but these fell significantly after the withdrawal from Afghanistan and remained low as the country experienced high inflation.

•His final approval rating sits at 38% according to Gallup, tying the lowest mark of his presidency

•Gallup recorded Biden's lowest mark at 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

•Gallup and other trackers put his final approval when he left office in January 2025 at 40%

Approval remained sharply polarized, with over 80% of Democrats expressing approval compared to just 10% of Republicans.

Bottom line

•If you value large-scale legislative action on infrastructure, climate, health care costs, and post-COVID economic recovery, historians currently place Biden in the top third / above-average range and supporters view him as effective.

•If you prioritize inflation control, border management, and foreign-policy execution in Afghanistan, and strong public approval, critics view his presidency as unsuccessful and polls show he left office with historically low approval for a modern president.

Most historians have not ranked Joe Biden as the worst president, but also not among the greatest - his legacy is generally assessed as consequential but divisive and still subject to re-evaluation over time.

Citations (1)

1factually.coLow provenance
How do historians rank U.S. presidents and where does ...
Backs: “Historians, polls, and policy analysis offer mixed but measurable views: How historians rank him. Historians and presidential scholars generally rate presidents across standardized attributes such as vision, crisis leadership, public persuasion and moral authority via structured surveys.”