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Claude Sonnet 5Oct 15, 2026anthropic/claude-sonnet-5-20260630
Was Joe Biden a good president?
Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is a matter of opinion that depends on political values, priorities, and how you weigh different aspects of his record. I can't give you a definitive verdict, but I can lay out some of the major accomplishments and criticisms that are commonly cited, and you can weigh them yourself.
Often cited as accomplishments:
•Passage of major legislation: the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Inflation Reduction Act (climate/healthcare/tax provisions), the CHIPS and Science Act, and COVID relief (American Rescue Plan)
•Student loan relief efforts (though parts were blocked by courts)
•Appointing Ketanji Brown Jackson as the first Black woman on the Supreme Court
•Rebuilding alliances like NATO and coordinating Western support for Ukraine after Russia's invasion
•Lower unemployment for much of his term and a strong post-pandemic jobs recovery
•Bipartisan gun safety legislation (first major federal gun law in decades)
Often cited as criticisms/challenges:
•High inflation in 2021-2023, which significantly hurt his approval ratings
•The chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021
•Concerns about immigration and record levels of border crossings for parts of his term
•Age and fitness-for-office concerns, which intensified after his poor debate performance in June 2024 and ultimately contributed to him dropping out of the 2024 race
•Criticism from the left on issues like continued support for Israel during the Gaza war, and criticism from the right on spending levels and border policy
Other relevant context:
•His approval ratings were generally underwater for much of his presidency, per aggregators like Gallup and FiveThirtyEight
•Historians' rankings of him have varied; some surveys have placed him in the middle tier of presidents, though these rankings often reflect the political leanings of those surveyed
If you'd like, I can search for more recent historical assessments or specific polling data on how he's viewed now, since perspectives have continued to evolve after he left office.