Evaluating a presidency takes balance — I'll pull recent rankings and poll data to present Biden's record fairly.
Whether Joe Biden was a good president is contested and depends on the criteria used. Historians, pollsters, and partisan commentators reach different conclusions.
How Biden is rated overall
•By historians, Biden ranks in the middle-to-upper tier. 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 of historians and scholars also ranked Biden the 14th-greatest president, placing him ahead of Ronald Reagan (16) and ahead of more recent presidents like George H.W. Bush (19) and George W. Bush (32).
•By public opinion during and after his term, his standing was weak. Gallup reported that Biden averaged 42.2% job approval across his four years, placing him as the second-lowest average in Gallup's post-World War II history, and that his 13th-quarter average of 38.7% ranked near the bottom historically (277th of 314). His final job approval rating in a Jan. 2-15 Gallup poll was 40%, and his 42.2% average for his term is the second lowest in Gallup records. Only Donald Trump's first-term average of 41.1% was lower.
•In a Gallup survey on how history will remember him, 54% of U.S. adults expect that Joe Biden will go down in history as a below-average or poor president, while 26% say he will be remembered as an average president and 19% as outstanding or above average. His approval was underwater since August 2021 and he exited with approval below 40%.
What supporters point to as accomplishments
Supporters argue Biden inherited the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recovery challenges, and credit him with:
•Legislative record: As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. He signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure and manufacturing, and part of his Build Back Better proposal was incorporated into the Inflation Reduction Act passed in 2022. Analysts list his major laws as the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the $1 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the $750 billion Inflation Reduction Act and the $280 billion CHIPS and Science Act.
•Infrastructure and climate: The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act was $1.2 trillion bipartisan legislation for transportation, broadband, power and clean drinking water. The Inflation Reduction Act included $392 billion towards a new climate budget — the single largest investment in emissions reduction in U.S. history, and together with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and CHIPS Act helped spur over $500 billion in private sector manufacturing investments. It is described as the nation's largest investment ever in clean energy and climate action.
•Economy and jobs: For data through November 2024, Biden on average had the lowest unemployment rate (4.12%) and highest real hourly wages for production and non-supervisory workers among presidents going back to 1964, and was the first president to oversee monthly job gains for the entirety of his presidency: 16.6 million jobs added. Other summaries credit record jobs (16M+), low unemployment, the PACT Act for veterans, and appointing the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.
•Foreign policy: Supporters say abroad, Biden restored the United States as the anchor of the free world while leading the effort to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression. The Council on Foreign Relations assessment notes he restored U.S. credentials as the world's leading democracy and that the United States' image abroad, particularly among allies, sharply rebounded, and that he laid groundwork for military and economic assistance that enabled Ukraine to rebuff Russian efforts, with NATO strengthened - two-thirds of members now meeting the 2% GDP defense benchmark, up from one-third in 2020, with Finland and Sweden joining.
What critics point to
Critics cite:
•Inflation and economy: 9.1% inflation, historically high border encounters, the Afghanistan collapse and an enormous increase in federal debt. The American Rescue Plan was later blamed by critics for contributing to inflation. Main criticisms include handling of the economy with inflation concerns, border security and the withdrawal from Afghanistan.
•Afghanistan withdrawal: Biden completed the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan — described as a necessary move given the mission was failing, even if the exit itself was disorderly and bloody. Critics label it the Afghanistan withdrawal disaster and a botched withdrawal.
•Immigration/border: Patrols encountered some 2.2 million migrants crossing the southern border illegally in 2022, an all-time high, with the southern border described as overwhelmed and forcing a pivot to more stringent measures. Critics cite the border crisis and record-high illegal immigration.
•Political and public perception: Even where legislative achievements were substantive, controversies and low approval complicated his legacy. Gallup noted Biden's low issue approvals on immigration (31%), the economy (38%) and foreign affairs (38%). Age and questions about cognitive capacity were also frequently raised by critics during his term.
Bottom line
Analysts who rate presidents on legislative productivity, alliance management, and crisis management tend to rank Biden relatively highly (top-third among historians). Polling of the general public during his presidency, focused on inflation, border security, and Afghanistan, was more negative, reflected in historically low approval averages.
Whether that constitutes a "good" presidency therefore often depends on whether one weights long-term investments and institutional restoration more heavily than short-term economic pain, border pressures, and foreign-policy setbacks.