Was Joe Biden a good president?

Was Biden's presidency considered good? I'll pull the record on his achievements, approval and historians' rankings to give you a balanced answer.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president depends on the criteria used - historians, polls, and policy analysis give different answers.

What supporters and some experts point to

The Council on Foreign Relations assessment described his presidency as "one of remarkable accomplishment" given a fractured domestic and international environment.

Specific achievements cited include:

•Foreign policy / alliances: Biden "restored the United States as the anchor of the free world while leading the successful effort to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression", and reestablished the United States' credentials as the world's leading democracy, with NATO strengthening and new members joining.

•Domestic legislation: Despite narrow margins in Congress, he secured major pieces of legislation — the pandemic relief bill, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. The administration credits the American Rescue Plan with driving a recovery that created millions of jobs - citing 16.6 million jobs created - and the Inflation Reduction Act is described as the nation's largest investment ever in clean energy and climate action.

•Economic management: One assessment said he "healed an economy that had been distressed by the pandemic and put the nation on a path of sustainable growth".

In scholarly rankings, historians have been relatively favorable. A Presidents Day survey of 154 historians and presidential experts placed Joe Biden at about 14th, and another survey placed him at fourteenth with a rating of 62.7 in the top third of the list. In general, presidents Ronald Reagan, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden have all ranked in the top 20.

What critics and public polling point to

Public opinion at the end of his term was much more negative than historians' assessments:

•As President Biden prepared to leave the White House, "only a quarter of the public view him as a great or good president". The AP-NORC poll found "Around one-quarter of U.S. adults said Biden was a 'good' or 'great' president, with less than 1 in 10 saying he was 'great'".

•In that poll, "Half of Democrats say Biden was a great or good president, compared with only 10% of independents and 4% of Republicans. A vast majority of Republicans view Biden as a poor or terrible president (82%) along with 56% of independents". Overall, about 3 in 10 think Biden's presidency was average.

•Americans had "a dimmer view of his presidency than they did at the end of Donald Trump's first term or Barack Obama's second".

•Job approval was historically low. Nearly two years into his presidency, "Joe Biden's job rating stands at 38% – identical to Donald Trump's approval rating at a similar point", and Gallup reported that Biden "averaged 42.2% job approval across his four years, placing him as the second‑lowest average in Gallup's post‑World War II history".

Common criticisms cited include:

•Inflation / economy: Even sympathetic analysis noted he "leaves the presidency with what appears to be a sterling economic record. There's just one problem... Inflation and its onerous burden on households... dwarfed all the other good". More than half of adults in AP-NORC polling thought his presidency hurt the country on cost of living and immigration.

•Afghanistan: The 2021 withdrawal from Afghanistan was widely described as disorderly and bloody, called by critics "an indelible stain on his presidency" and a foreign policy failure.

•Immigration and border: Patrols encountered some 2.2 million migrants crossing the southern border illegally in 2022, an all-time high, forcing a pivot to more stringent measures.

•Concerns about age were routinely cited in polling as eroding confidence in his handling of key policy areas.

Bottom line

Historians so far tend to rank Biden in the upper-middle tier - around 14th of 45, in the top third - based on legislative accomplishments, alliance management, and economic recovery measures. The contemporary public, however, judged him more harshly, with low average approval and only about 25% rating him as good or great, largely due to inflation, immigration, the Afghanistan withdrawal, and age concerns.

Whether that historic ranking holds will depend on long-term effects of laws like the Infrastructure Act, CHIPS Act, and Inflation Reduction Act, and how inflation and foreign policy are remembered over time.

Citations (3)

1cfr.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Biden’s Legacy: Major Accomplishments but Unfinished Business | Council on Foreign Relations
Backs: “Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president depends on the criteria used - historians, polls, and policy analysis give different answers. What supporters and some experts point to. The Council on Foreign Relations assessment described his presidency as "one of remarkable accomplishment" given a fractured domestic and…”
2factually.coLow provenance
What are Biden’s presidential accomplishments
Backs: “Domestic legislation: Despite narrow margins in Congress, he secured major pieces of legislation — the pandemic relief bill, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act.”
3wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Historical rankings of presidents of the United States - Wikipedia
Backs: “A Presidents Day survey of 154 historians and presidential experts placed Joe Biden at about 14th, and another survey placed him at fourteenth with a rating of 62.7 in the top third of the list.”