Was Joe Biden a good president?

Your question touches on how historians and the public judge a presidency — I'll gather recent assessments, approval data and key legislative records to give you a balanced view.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is subjective and depends on which criteria you use - historians, public opinion polls, and policy records give different answers.

How historians rank him

Historians and presidential experts have generally rated him above average:

•The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, based on 154 historians and presidential experts, rated Biden in the top third of U.S. presidents.

•The survey had Biden in 14th place, just ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan.

•His overall greatness score was 62.66 on a 0-100 scale, tied with John Adams.

•There was ideological variation: experts who self-identified as conservatives rated Biden No. 30, while liberals put him 13th and moderates ranked him 20th.

An earlier Siena Research Institute survey, after only a year in office, had Biden entering the ranking at 19th, rated highly on his ability to compromise (9th), court appointments (10th), executive appointments (10th) and integrity (12th) but lower on luck (34th), his relationship with Congress (31st) and his communication ability (30th).

Historian Julian E. Zelizer in 2026 described Biden's presidency as similar to those of George H. W. Bush and Jimmy Carter, who were elected to office on a platform of change but served only one term.

How the public rated him

Public approval during and at the end of his presidency was much lower than his historian ranking:

•A Pew Research Center survey in January 2024 found just 33% of Americans approve of his job performance.

•Another Pew assessment found fewer than four-in-ten U.S. adults (37%) approved, with six-in-ten saying they disapprove.

•An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research survey near the end of his term found only about a quarter of U.S. adults regard Biden as a 'good' or 'great' president.

•Gallup noted that as Biden prepared to leave office, Americans offered a largely negative assessment of the progress the U.S. has made during his presidency on 18 economic, national and international issues.

Arguments that he was a good/effective president - Accomplishments cited by supporters

Supporters point to legislative and economic records:

•Major legislation: During his first two years President Biden worked with Congressional Democrats to pass historic laws that form the basis of his Investing in America agenda - The American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act.

•Investment claims: Together with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act helped spur over $500 billion in private sector manufacturing investments since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office.

•Economic recovery: The White House's 2025 Economic Report said over the course of the Biden-Harris Administration, the U.S. economy has not only rebounded from the pandemic, but also has seen one of the fastest, most robust economic recoveries on record. It cited the lowest average unemployment rate of any administration in more than 50 years, a record 20 million new business applications, and nearly 17 million jobs created.

•Foreign policy: The Council on Foreign Relations noted 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. Brookings described the Biden administration's record on the Ukraine conflict as excellent in 2022, though it became a bit stuck in 2023.

Arguments that he was not a good president - Criticisms

Critics and many voters focused on inflation, immigration, foreign policy, and age:

•Inflation: U.S. inflation peaked in June 2022 at 9.1 percent year over year, as measured by the Consumer Price Index. Critics argue inflation surged to 9.1% in 2022 under his watch, eroding wages and public trust, with policies like excessive stimulus blamed for fueling it.

•Border: Critics cited border encounters hitting records (over 10 million), overwhelming systems and drawing bipartisan rebuke, with opponents saying the administration threw open borders creating the worst border crisis.

•Afghanistan withdrawal: The 2021 withdrawal was described as chaotic, resulting in 13 U.S. deaths and Taliban resurgence. Some analysts said during the withdrawal, Biden's approval ratings plunged and his polls have remained negative ever since.

•Perception gap: Associated Press reporting noted Biden spent so much of his time addressing long-term priorities that many voters felt he did not adequately deal with more immediate problems like high inflation that peaked in 2022 and illegal crossings at the U.S. border with Mexico.

Bottom line

•By academic historian rankings, Biden is typically rated as an above-average president in the top third.

•By contemporary public opinion polling and approval ratings, he left office with historically low approval, with only about a quarter to a third of Americans rating him positively.

Whether that history makes him "good" often depends on whether you weight long-term legislative and institutional impacts more heavily than short-term economic pain, border and foreign policy controversies, and concerns about age and communication.

Citations (3)

1nprillinois.orgNews and media
In historians' Presidents Day survey, Biden vs. Trump is not a close call
Backs: “Historians and presidential experts have generally rated him above average: The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey, based on 154 historians and presidential experts, rated Biden in the top third of U.S.”
2devdiscourse.comNews and media
Biden's Tarnished Legacy: Dimming Approval as Presidency Nears End | Politics
Backs: “A Pew Research Center survey in January 2024 found just 33% of Americans approve of his job performance. Another Pew assessment found fewer than four-in-ten U.S. adults (37%) approved, with six-in-ten saying they disapprove. An Associated Press-NORC Centre for Public Affairs Research survey near the end of his term…”
3govinfo.govGovernment
### Chapter 1
Backs: “Investment claims: Together with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the CHIPS and Science Act, the Inflation Reduction Act helped spur over $500 billion in private sector manufacturing investments since President Biden and Vice President Harris took office. Economic recovery: The White House's 2025 Economic Report…”