Was Joe Biden a good president?

To give a balanced look at Joe Biden's presidency, I'll pull recent assessments of his record, public approval, and historians' rankings.

Whether Joe Biden was a "good president" is subjective and depends on political perspective and what criteria are used. His presidency from January 20, 2021 to January 20, 2025 is evaluated differently by historians, supporters, and critics, and by public opinion polling.

How historians have ranked him

•The Siena College Research Institute's 2022 survey ranked Biden 19th out of 45 presidents

•The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert survey ranked Biden 14th, also described as the 14th-greatest president in an American Political Science Association poll of historians and scholars

•In that survey he was placed ahead of Woodrow Wilson and Ronald Reagan with a rating of 62.7

•The ranking showed a partisan divide: on average Democrats ranked Biden 13th and Republicans 30th

Historians noted his high placement was somewhat unusual for a presidency without military victories or institutional expansion.

Achievements cited by supporters

As president, Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and recession. He also signed bipartisan bills on infrastructure and manufacturing.

Other major legislative achievements often cited include:

•Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (2021): $1.2 trillion law authorizing infrastructure spending, aimed at modernizing roads, bridges, transit, broadband and water infrastructure

•Inflation Reduction Act (2022): Incorporated parts of the proposed Build Back Better Act, and is described as the largest allocation of funds for addressing climate change in the history of the United States. It included investments in clean energy and climate mitigation, provisions allowing Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices, and measures aimed at reducing the deficit

•Other bills often listed are the CHIPS Act ($52B semiconductor investment) and the American Rescue Plan ($1.9T COVID relief), along with the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law

In foreign policy, the U.S. reentered the Paris Agreement, responded to Russia's invasion of Ukraine by imposing sanctions and authorizing aid, and supported Finland's and Sweden's bids to join NATO.

He also appointed Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court.

Criticisms and factors behind low public approval

Biden entered office with majority support, but his approval ratings declined significantly during his presidency, particularly over concerns about inflation and immigration.

Polling during his term frequently showed him near the lowest levels of his presidency:

•Around 40% approval in Reuters/Ipsos polling, close to the lowest level of his presidency

•Other polling showed 39% approval and as low as 38.6% in FiveThirtyEight's aggregation

Common criticisms cited include:

•Inflation: Inflation peaked at 9.1 percent in June 2022, and critics pointed to 9.1% inflation as a major issue

•Afghanistan withdrawal: Biden withdrew U.S. troops from Afghanistan pursuant to the 2020 Doha Accords, and the Taliban swiftly retook control, described by critics as the Afghanistan collapse

•Border/Immigration: Historically high border encounters were cited by critics

•Federal debt: An enormous increase in federal debt was also cited as a criticism

•Age and health: Concerns about Biden's age and health persisted throughout his presidency. He is the first president to turn 80 while in office, and after his performance in the first 2024 presidential debate, intensifying scrutiny led him to withdraw his candidacy for reelection

For many Americans, the Biden years became associated with rapid inflation, heavy migration at the southern border, the withdrawal from Afghanistan and questions about presidential age.

Public vs. expert assessments

Expert historian rankings (placing him in the middle to upper-middle tier, 14th-19th) have diverged from public assessments at the time, which showed low approval ratings near 40% and concern about his handling of immigration and inflation.

In short, supporters tend to emphasize legislative accomplishments on infrastructure, climate, healthcare and pandemic recovery, plus restoration of alliances and support for Ukraine, while critics emphasize inflation, the border, the Afghanistan withdrawal, rising debt, and age-related concerns.

Citations (1)

1wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Joe Biden
Backs: “To give a balanced look at Joe Biden's presidency, I'll pull recent assessments of his record, public approval, and historians' rankings. Whether Joe Biden was a "good president" is subjective and depends on political perspective and what criteria are used.”