Was Joe Biden a good president?

Both sidesSays it is contested

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is fundamentally a matter of political judgment and values, so reasonable people disagree significantly. Rather than offering my own verdict, here's a balanced look at the record from his 2021–2025 term:

Often cited as achievements:

•Passage of major legislation: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act (semiconductor manufacturing), and the Inflation Reduction Act (climate, healthcare, tax provisions)

•Overseeing a strong post-pandemic jobs recovery and low unemployment for much of his term

•Rallying NATO and Western allies in response to Russia's invasion of Ukraine

•Student debt relief efforts (though partially blocked by courts)

•Appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court

•COVID-19 vaccine distribution scale-up early in his term

Common criticisms:

•High inflation in 2021–2023, which hurt his approval ratings and was a major issue in the 2024 election

•Handling of the U.S.-Mexico border and migration levels

•The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021

•Concerns about his age and mental acuity, which became a major issue, especially after his June 2024 debate performance and ultimately led him to drop out of the 2024 race

•Criticism from the left over his handling of the Israel-Gaza war, and from the right over spending levels and border policy

Broader context:

•His approval ratings were generally underwater for much of his presidency

•Historians and political scientists often rank presidents using different criteria (legislative accomplishment, crisis management, long-term impact), and Biden's ranking varies depending on which criteria are weighted

If you'd like, I can dig deeper into any specific policy area (economy, foreign policy, immigration, judicial appointments, etc.) or look at how historians/polls are currently assessing his presidency in retrospect.

Was Joe Biden a good president?

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