Was Joe Biden a good president?

Was Biden a good president? I'll gather a balanced assessment of his record — from legislative wins to criticisms and how historians rank him.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is subjective and depends on what criteria you prioritize. Historians, pollsters and analysts offer mixed assessments that combine significant legislative accomplishments with significant political and policy vulnerabilities.

Legislative and Policy Accomplishments

Supporters point to several large laws passed with narrow Democratic majorities:

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

•A $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law funding roads, bridges, rail and broadband

•The CHIPS and Science Act incentivizing domestic semiconductor production

•The Inflation Reduction Act ($369B climate — the largest climate legislation in US history), which also enabled Medicare drug-price negotiations and capped insulin at $35 for seniors

Other cited accomplishments include:

•Consistent monthly job creation, with academic assessments citing 2.23 million jobs in his final year driven in part by infrastructure and CHIPS investments

•Roughly 235 federal judicial appointments — with a majority women and a large share from non-white backgrounds — surpassing recent presidents in single-term appointments

•On foreign policy, strengthening NATO and re-engaging global institutions such as rejoining the Paris Agreement and WHO, and launching initiatives like the Partnership for Global Infrastructure and Investment, and unifying NATO allies in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine

His presidency is described as producing a historic legislative record: the American Rescue Plan, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS Act committed $52 billion to domestic semiconductor manufacturing, and the Inflation Reduction Act

Criticisms and Challenges

Critics and even mixed retrospectives emphasize:

•Inflation: CPI rose 21.3% between December 2020 and December 2024 with an annualized rate near 5.3%, peaking at 9.1% in June 2022 — the highest in 40 years

•Afghanistan withdrawal: The withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 produced bipartisan criticism for its execution and diplomatic fallout, with images of the Kabul airport collapse inflicting lasting damage on his approval

•Immigration and other unmet ambitions: Comprehensive immigration reform stalled despite U.S. Citizenship Act proposals, and inflation and concerns about border security depressed public confidence

Analyses note rising inflation, record-high numbers of unauthorized border crossings, and international challenges in Ukraine and the Middle East kept his approval in the low 40s or high 30s after 2021

Public Opinion and Historical Ranking

Public approval was historically low:

•Joe Biden averaged 42.2% job approval during his four years as president, the second lowest in Gallup polling history

•That average was just one percentage point higher than Donald Trump, who holds the record low

•He enjoyed ratings above 50% during the first six months, but once support declined about midway through his first year, it never recovered

•A drop to 43% followed the chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in September 2021

•His final Gallup rating in January 2025 was 40%, with other tallies putting his exit approval at 38% — the lowest exit approval since Jimmy Carter

Among scholars, the assessment was higher at the time: A February 2024 American Political Science Association poll of historians and scholars ranked Biden as the 14th-greatest president

Competing Narratives

As summarized by independent appraisals:

> Taken together, Biden’s presidency combined tangible policy accomplishments—massive pandemic relief, infrastructure investment, judicial appointments, drug-pricing steps and civil-rights advances—with pronounced vulnerabilities in crisis management, inflation control and immigration

Proponents emphasize durable institutional changes and recovery-era measures, while critics stress operational failures and electoral consequences that may erase or reverse parts of his record

Gallup's bottom-line assessment noted that in Americans' evaluation of how the 46th president did his job, economic hardships (especially inflation) and international conflicts evidently outweighed any legislative wins such as historic investments in infrastructure and climate change policy, as well as generally solid GDP growth, low unemployment and record highs in the stock market

Citations (3)

1factually.coLow provenance
What Did Joe Biden Accomplish As President?
Backs: “Historians, pollsters and analysts offer mixed assessments that combine significant legislative accomplishments with significant political and policy vulnerabilities. Legislative and Policy Accomplishments. Supporters point to several large laws passed with narrow Democratic majorities:”
2uspollingdata.comData and tools
Joe Biden — 46th President of the United States, Democrat
Backs: “The CHIPS and Science Act incentivizing domestic semiconductor production. The Inflation Reduction Act ($369B climate — the largest climate legislation in US history), which also enabled Medicare drug-price negotiations and capped insulin at $35 for seniors”
3gallup.comCompanies
Biden Job Approval Second Lowest Among Post-WWII Presidents
Backs: “Immigration and other unmet ambitions: Comprehensive immigration reform stalled despite U.S. Citizenship Act proposals, and inflation and concerns about border security depressed public confidence. Analyses note rising inflation, record-high numbers of unauthorized border crossings, and international challenges in…”