Was Joe Biden a good president?

A balanced look at President Biden's record — I'll gather recent rankings and major accomplishments and criticisms to assess his tenure.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is subjective and depends on who you ask — historians, the general public, and partisans rate him very differently.

How the public rates him

As Biden prepared to leave office in January 2025, public evaluations were negative on balance:

•Only a quarter of the public view him as a great or good president. About 3 in 10 think his presidency was average.

•In his final weeks, only 39% approved of the way he was handling his job, with steep partisan divides: 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.

•Most Americans did not think they and their family or the country are better off after four years with Biden. At the end of Trump's presidency, 38% felt their household and 31% thought the country were better off, and when Obama was leaving, 41% said their household and 46% said the country were better off.

•Only 22% think Biden kept the promises he made while campaigning.

•Over half feel Biden negatively impacted cost of living and immigration during his presidency, while nearly 4 in 10 view student debt, job creation, and the cost of prescription drugs as among the top policy areas where Biden had a positive impact.

Low approval was attributed to several factors. Analysts attributed low ratings to the country’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021, to the widespread perception that Biden was mismanaging the economy, and to the belief that Biden was too old to competently serve. His job rating had not been above 40% since April 2022.

How historians rate him

Historians and presidential experts have been considerably more positive:

•The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey has Biden in 14th place, just ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan. Trump's overall rating was 10.92, easily the worst showing, while Biden's 62.66 had him tied with John Adams.

•Other academic surveys agree: The Siena College Research Institute's 2022 survey ranked Biden 19th out of 45 presidents and the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert survey ranked Biden 14th. A February 2024 American Political Science Association poll also ranked Biden the 14th-greatest president.

•The ranking was polarized by ideology: Experts who self-identified as conservatives rated Biden No. 30, while liberals put him 13th and moderates ranked him 20th.

Arguments that he was a good / accomplished president

Supporters point to a long legislative record:

•As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, and signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure and manufacturing. Part of his proposed Build Back Better Act was incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022.

•He appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, reentered the Paris Agreement, responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions and authorizing aid, and supported Finland's and Sweden's bids to join NATO.

The White House's own record summary claimed:

•Today, we have the strongest economy in the world and have created a record 16.6 million new jobs. Wages are up and inflation continues to come down.

•More people have health insurance today than ever before, and he signed one of the most significant laws helping veterans exposed to toxic materials as well as the most significant climate law ever and the first major gun safety law in nearly 30 years, with the violent crime rate at a 50-year low.

•The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funded nearly $600 billion and launched over 72,000 specific infrastructure projects, including improvements on over 200,000 miles of roads and over 12,000 bridge repair projects.

Arguments that he was not a good president

Critics emphasize:

•Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan in a chaotic exit, after which the Taliban swiftly retook control.

•Inflation and its burden on households, particularly at the lower end of the income spectrum, dwarfed other good that happened and tainted his legacy.

•In 2021, illegal border crossings at the Mexico-United States border began to surge when Biden assumed office.

•Concerns about Biden's age and health persisted throughout his presidency, reinforced by his poor performance in his first televised debate with Trump on June 27, 2024. He initially ran for reelection in 2024, but after intensifying scrutiny about his age and health he withdrew his candidacy.

Bottom line

•To historians, Biden ranks in the top third — 14th greatest — above recent presidents like Reagan and ahead of many one-term presidents.

•To the contemporary public, especially independents and Republicans, he left office with historically low approval and with most voters saying the country was not better off.

If you value expansive domestic legislation, economic recovery from COVID, alliance restoration, and climate/health investments, you may view him as a good president. If you prioritize inflation control, border security, the Afghanistan withdrawal, and concerns about age and leadership, you may view him as a poor one.

Citations (4)

1apnorc.orgAcademic
Biden’s legacy as president - AP-NORC
Backs: “Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is subjective and depends on who you ask — historians, the general public, and partisans rate him very differently. How the public rates him. As Biden prepared to leave office in January 2025, public evaluations were negative on balance:”
2knkx.orgNot yet classified
In historians' Presidents Day survey, Biden vs. Trump is not a close call
Backs: “His job rating had not been above 40% since April 2022. How historians rate him. Historians and presidential experts have been considerably more positive: The 2024 edition of the Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey has Biden in 14th place, just ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan.”
3wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Joe Biden - Wikipedia
Backs: “30, while liberals put him 13th and moderates ranked him 20th. Arguments that he was a good / accomplished president. Supporters point to a long legislative record: As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession, and signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure…”
4archives.govGovernment
Fact Sheet:
Backs: “He appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, reentered the Paris Agreement, responded to the Russian invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions and authorizing aid, and supported Finland's and Sweden's bids to join NATO. The White House's own record summary claimed:”