Was Joe Biden a good president?

Was Biden's presidency judged a success? I'll pull together his record, achievements and criticisms to give you a balanced overview.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is subjective and evaluations remain divided. Historians and polling show a mix of tangible accomplishments and significant vulnerabilities.

View of supporters and some analyses - major accomplishments

Supporters and some analytic assessments describe his term as having remarkable or tangible policy accomplishments:

> Taken together, Biden's presidency combined tangible policy accomplishments—massive pandemic relief, infrastructure investment, judicial appointments, drug-pricing steps and civil-rights advances

Specific legislative achievements often cited include:

•The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act described as largest climate investment in US history, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act

•Other analyses list the same major pieces: pandemic relief bill, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, CHIPS and Science Act, and Inflation Reduction Act — that helped revive the economy and spur job growth and directed investments to regions hit by deindustrialization

The Council on Foreign Relations assessment argued:

> President Joe Biden has faced a uniquely vexing task: navigating a fractured United States through a fractured world. Against this backdrop, his presidency has been one of remarkable accomplishment. Abroad, Biden restored the United States as the anchor of the free world while leading the successful effort to help Ukraine defend itself
> At home, he healed an economy that had been distressed by the pandemic and put the nation on a path of sustainable growth

In foreign policy:

•NATO today is strong and unified, with two-thirds of members meeting 2% GDP benchmark up from one-third in 2020, and Finland and Sweden joining the alliance

Other accomplishments cited by the administration and supporters include Medicare drug-price negotiation, PACT Act for veterans, lowering insulin costs, and appointing a historically diverse federal judiciary including the first Black woman to the Supreme Court.

View of critics and public approval - vulnerabilities

The same comprehensive assessment notes accomplishments were combined "with pronounced vulnerabilities in crisis management, inflation control and immigration"

Common criticisms cited:

> For millions of Americans, the Biden years became associated with rapid inflation, historically heavy migration at the southern border, a traumatic withdrawal from Afghanistan and growing questions about presidential age

More specifically:

> Conservatives can point to 9.1% inflation, historically high border encounters, the Afghanistan collapse and an enormous increase in federal debt

Details include:

•Patrols encountered some 2.2 million migrants crossing the southern border illegally in 2022, an all-time high

•He began with over 50% approval but fell significantly after the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and remained low as country experienced high inflation

•Despite significant wage increases, rapid job growth, and greatly reduced unemployment, public worries regarding inflation contributed to perception Biden was mismanaging the economy, which contributed to his low public approval

•By end of 2023 inflation had declined to 4.1 percent, but Biden's approval was only 39 percent, the second lowest of any modern U.S. president

Polling reflected that negativity:

•Gallup measured his overall approval down to 37%, matching his personal low

•Gallup polls found approval below 50% on five key issues (Ukraine, economy, foreign affairs, Middle East and immigration) with lowest marks in immigration

•A CNN poll reported Americans broadly view Biden's four years in office more as a FAILURE than as a success

His age and mental fitness remained a frequent subject of discussion throughout his presidency, ultimately culminating in his decision to not seek re-election

Balancing assessment

As one analysis put it:

> President Joe Biden has faced a uniquely vexing task... Yet as made clear by the divisiveness of the 2024 presidential race, Biden fell short of achieving his most ambitious objective

Presidential legacies often change over time as policies mature. Supporters emphasize durable institutional changes and recovery-era measures, while critics stress operational failures and electoral consequences that may erase or reverse parts of his agenda

In short, whether Biden is considered a good president tends to depend on which metrics a person prioritizes — legislative and alliance achievements and economic recovery versus inflation, border management, Afghanistan withdrawal, and concerns about age and political durability.

Citations (1)

1cfr.orgNonprofits and think tanks
Biden’s Legacy: Major Accomplishments but Unfinished Business
Backs: “The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the Inflation Reduction Act described as largest climate investment in US history, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act. Other analyses list the same major pieces: pandemic relief bill, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act,…”