Was Joe Biden a good president?

A balanced look at Joe Biden's presidency needs evidence — I'll gather assessments of his record, rankings and public views.

Was Joe Biden a good president is a subjective question, and evaluations differ sharply depending on political perspective, criteria used, and time horizon. Historians, pollsters, and commentators have offered mixed assessments:

How Historians Have Ranked Him

In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey of 154 historians and presidential experts:

The survey authors noted that partisanship affects such rankings and that measuring greatness is "both subjective and selective".

Some historians quoted near the end of his term said his legacy may be assessed "far more generously than some would have it today," pointing to COVID recovery and legislative wins.

Arguments Made By Supporters

Supporters, including analysts at the Council on Foreign Relations, described his presidency as one of "remarkable accomplishment", citing:

1. Major Legislation: Despite holding the narrowest margins in Congress, he secured the American Rescue Plan, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act. The CHIPS Act authorized $52 billion for semiconductor research and manufacturing, and the Inflation Reduction Act was described as the nation's largest ever investment in clean energy and climate action.

2. Economy and Pandemic: Supporters credit the administration with healing "an economy that had been distressed by the pandemic and put the nation on a path of sustainable growth" and with efforts to repatriate manufacturing and supply chains.

3. Foreign Policy: He "restored the United States as the anchor of the free world while leading the successful effort to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression", repairing relations with NATO allies. NATO today had two-thirds of members meeting the 2% GDP defense spending benchmark, up from one-third in 2020, and Finland and Sweden joined the alliance during his term.

Arguments Made By Critics

1. Approval Ratings: Biden "began his term with over 50% approval ratings; these fell significantly after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and remained low as the country experienced high inflation and rising gas prices".

By July 2024, just before he withdrew from the 2024 race, Gallup recorded a 36% job approval rating, "his lowest to date" with 58% disapproving. His 14th-quarter average of 37.7% was his lowest quarterly average, with "only Jimmy Carter had a lower 14th-quarter job approval rating (35.8%)" among post-WWII presidents.

Other late-term polling showed 37% approving and six-in-ten disapproving, with polls showing "a lack of confidence in his handling of key policy areas".

2. Afghanistan Withdrawal: The complete withdrawal that ended the war in Afghanistan was widely criticized as disorderly. Even sympathetic assessments called it "disorderly and bloody" though a "necessary move", while critics called it a "disastrous withdrawal."

3. Inflation and Economy: Critics pointed to high inflation and rising gas prices that persisted through much of his term, even as they later decreased.

4. Immigration: After efforts to rebuild a "safe, orderly, and humane immigration system," the southern border was "soon overwhelmed. Patrols encountered some 2.2 million migrants crossing the southern border illegally in 2022, an all-time high".

5. Age and Fitness: His "age and mental fitness were a frequent subject of discussion throughout his presidency", culminating in his decision to withdraw from the 2024 race. He was routinely criticized over his age.

Bottom Line

Public polling during his presidency was consistently negative after mid-2021, while expert academic rankings have been considerably more favorable, placing him in the top third historically but with significant partisan variation.

Whether that constitutes a "good" presidency depends on what criteria a person prioritizes - legislative productivity, alliance management, and climate investment versus inflation, border management, Afghanistan execution, and concerns about age and leadership effectiveness.