Was Joe Biden a good president?

Evaluating the presidency of Joe Biden (2021–2025) is a subject of ongoing debate. Views on his performance differ significantly depending on whether one looks at his legislative record, his management of the economy, foreign policy, or his standing among academic historians versus the general public.

Below is an overview of the primary arguments made in favor of and against his presidency, as well as how scholars and the public have evaluated his legacy.

Arguments in Favor of His Presidency (The Achievements)

Supporters and center-left analysts view Joe Biden as a highly consequential, productive, and steady president who navigated the country through a highly polarized period. Key arguments in his favor include:

•Major Legislative Accomplishments: Despite a razor-thin Democratic majority in Congress during his first two years, Biden signed several historic, bipartisan, and major pieces of legislation into law:

•The American Rescue Plan (2021): A $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that funded vaccine distribution and provided direct financial aid to Americans.

•The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021): A $1.2 trillion bipartisan package representing the largest federal investment in roads, bridges, public transit, clean water, and high-speed internet in decades.

•The CHIPS and Science Act (2022): A bipartisan law aimed at bringing semiconductor manufacturing back to the United States.

•The Inflation Reduction Act (2022): The largest investment in climate change mitigation and green energy in U.S. history, which also allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and capped insulin costs for seniors.

•The Bipartisan Safer Communities Act (2022): The first significant federal gun safety legislation passed in nearly 30 years.

•Job Growth and Economic Recovery: Under the Biden administration, the U.S. recovered rapidly from the COVID-19 economic downturn. The economy added over 15 million jobs, and unemployment rates reached 50-year lows.

•Restoring Traditional Foreign Alliances: Biden shifted American foreign policy back toward multilateralism. He re-entered the Paris Climate Agreement on his first day, strongly supported and expanded NATO (welcoming Finland and Sweden), and successfully rallied international coalition support for Ukraine following the Russian invasion in 2022.

•Judicial Appointments: Biden appointed Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court, and appointed over 200 federal judges, prioritizing professional and demographic diversity.

Arguments Against His Presidency (The Criticisms)

Critics, particularly conservatives and Republicans, point to major economic strains, foreign policy crises, and domestic challenges as evidence of a flawed presidency. Key criticisms include:

•Inflation and Cost of Living: Biden’s term was marked by the highest inflation rates in 40 years, peaking in 2022. Opponents argue that his massive spending bills, particularly the American Rescue Plan, overstimulated the economy and fueled inflation. High interest rates set by the Federal Reserve to combat inflation made homeownership, car buying, and daily expenses much harder for average Americans.

•The Afghanistan Withdrawal (2021): The chaotic U.S. military withdrawal from Afghanistan in August 2021 was widely condemned. Critics and international allies faulted the administration's planning, which led to the rapid collapse of the Afghan government, the return of the Taliban, and a terrorist attack at the Kabul airport that killed 13 U.S. service members. This event marked a permanent turning point downward in Biden’s public approval ratings.

•Border Security and Immigration: The administration faced relentless criticism for its handling of the U.S.-Mexico border, which saw historic numbers of migrant crossings. Critics accused the administration of failing to enforce border security, while some progressives simultaneously criticized Biden's eventual implementation of stricter asylum limits.

•Middle East Turmoil: Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel, Biden’s foreign policy faced deep domestic divisions. Conservatives and pro-Israel groups sometimes criticized him for not being supportive enough of Israel’s military campaign, while progressive Democrats and Arab-American groups strongly protested his administration’s continued supply of weapons to Israel amidst the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

•Concerns Over Age and Leadership: As the oldest serving president in U.S. history, Biden’s age, stamina, and verbal slips were under continuous scrutiny. Public concern over his physical and cognitive fitness peaked during a June 2024 debate against Donald Trump, ultimately leading to heavy pressure from within his own party that forced him to withdraw from the 2024 presidential race.

Historian Rankings vs. Public Approval

The evaluation of Joe Biden's presidency exhibits a sharp divide between political scientists/historians and the general public:

•Historians' View (Highly Favorable): In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey—conducted among 154 presidential scholars and political scientists—Joe Biden was ranked 14th out of 45 presidents. This put him in the top third of all U.S. presidents, ranked just ahead of Woodrow Wilson, Ronald Reagan, and Ulysses S. Grant. Scholars highly valued his preservation of democratic norms, his extensive legislative legacy, and his ability to govern effectively through crises.

•Public Approval (Unfavorable): In contrast to academic experts, the American public maintained a consistently negative view of Biden’s presidency during his final two years. His approval ratings regularly hovered in the high 30s to low 40s, largely driven by frustration over inflation, high interest rates, and concerns about his age.

Conclusion

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president depends on which aspects of his term are prioritized. To those who value legislative productivity, institutional norms, and global alliances, his single term is viewed as remarkably successful and consequential. To those who judge a president on the cost of living, border security, and international stability, his term is viewed as a period of domestic decline and global volatility.

Citations (9)

1wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Evaluating the presidency of Joe Biden (2021–2025) is a subject of ongoing debate. Views on his performance differ significantly depending on whether one looks at his legislative record, his management of the economy, foreign policy, or his standing among academic historians versus the general public.”
2uh.eduAcademic
uh.edu
Backs: “Supporters and center-left analysts view Joe Biden as a highly consequential, productive, and steady president who navigated the country through a highly polarized period. Key arguments in his favor include:”
3bidenlibrary.govGovernment
bidenlibrary.gov
Backs: “Major Legislative Accomplishments: Despite a razor-thin Democratic majority in Congress during his first two years, Biden signed several historic, bipartisan, and major pieces of legislation into law: The American Rescue Plan (2021): A $1.9 trillion pandemic relief package that funded vaccine distribution and provided…”
4democratsabroad.orgNonprofits and think tanks
democratsabroad.org
Backs: “The economy added over 15 million jobs, and unemployment rates reached 50-year lows. Restoring Traditional Foreign Alliances: Biden shifted American foreign policy back toward multilateralism.”
5wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Inflation and Cost of Living: Biden’s term was marked by the highest inflation rates in 40 years, peaking in 2022. Opponents argue that his massive spending bills, particularly the American Rescue Plan, overstimulated the economy and fueled inflation.”
6abc10.comNot yet classified
abc10.com
Backs: “Concerns Over Age and Leadership: As the oldest serving president in U.S. history, Biden’s age, stamina, and verbal slips were under continuous scrutiny. Public concern over his physical and cognitive fitness peaked during a June 2024 debate against Donald Trump, ultimately leading to heavy pressure from within his…”
7axios.comNews and mediaquality 0.90
axios.com
Backs: “Historians' View (Highly Favorable): In the 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert Survey—conducted among 154 presidential scholars and political scientists—Joe Biden was ranked 14th out of 45 presidents. This put him in the top third of all U.S.”
8facebook.comSocial media and video
facebook.com
Backs: “Scholars highly valued his preservation of democratic norms, his extensive legislative legacy, and his ability to govern effectively through crises.”
9youtube.comSocial media and video
youtube.com
Backs: “His approval ratings regularly hovered in the high 30s to low 40s, largely driven by frustration over inflation, high interest rates, and concerns about his age.”