Was Joe Biden a good president?
Was Biden a good president? I'll gather his record, approval data and historian rankings to give you a balanced look.
Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is subjective and depends on what criteria you prioritize - legislative accomplishments, economic management, foreign policy, or public approval. Historians and the public have assessed him very differently:
Major accomplishments cited by supporters and official record
Biden took office in January 2021 during "the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression".
His administration points to:
Other major laws were "the Inflation Reduction Act, which provided incentives to shift away from fossil"fuels and "enabled Medicare to negotiate drug prices", the CHIPS and Science Act, and the PACT Act for veterans and the first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years. The administration also notes "the violent crime rate is at a 50-year low".
Supporters also point to labor market data showing the lowest average unemployment in 50 years and that he was described by the Labor Department as "the most pro-worker, pro-union President" for walking a picket line.
Major criticisms and vulnerabilities
Critics and even balanced assessments note:
This led to a summary that his presidency combined "substantive policy accomplishments—in infrastructure, industry policy, drug pricing, social supports and judicial appointments—with glaring failures and political liabilities in Afghanistan, inflation control, border politics, and messaging".
How the public rated him
Public approval was historically low:
Gallup concluded those issues "evidently outweighed any legislative wins during Biden's presidency, 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".
How historians have rated him
Historians have been more favorable than the public:
Historians noted his ranking was "unusually high for a presidency without military victories or institutional expansion," with some citing restoring a traditional style of leadership as a factor.
Bottom line
Taken together, Biden's presidency is often described as mixed and consequential - combining "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".
If you value large-scale domestic legislation, alliance management and a strong post-pandemic jobs recovery, you are more likely to view him positively. If you weight cost-of-living, border security and foreign-policy execution more heavily, you are more likely to view him negatively.
Citations (2)
- Fact Sheet:
Backs: “Historians and the public have assessed him very differently: Major accomplishments cited by supporters and official record. Biden took office in January 2021 during "the worst pandemic in a century, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression".”
- Biden Job Approval Second Lowest Among Post-WWII Presidents
Backs: “service members, an effort that was widely criticized". Inflation - "Inflation surged to 9.1% in 2022 under his watch", with rising prices eroding wages. Gallup noted "Rising inflation, record-high numbers of unauthorized border crossings...kept [Biden's] approval ratings in the low 40s or high 30s thereafter".”