Was Joe Biden a good president?

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is a subject of ongoing debate among historians, political scientists, and the public. His single-term presidency (2021–2025) was marked by historic legislative achievements, a rapid post-pandemic economic recovery, deep political polarization, and persistent challenges both domestically and abroad.

An evaluation of his presidency generally centers on the following key arguments.

The Case for a Successful Presidency (Key Achievements)

Supporters and many presidential historians point to several major successes during his four years in office:

1.Major Legislative Accomplishments: Despite a highly polarized and narrowly divided Congress, Biden passed some of the most consequential domestic legislation in decades.

•The American Rescue Plan: A massive COVID-19 relief package that funded vaccine distribution and provided direct financial aid to families.

•The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: A historic investment in rebuilding the country's roads, bridges, public transit, and clean water access.

•The CHIPS and Science Act: Aimed at boosting domestic manufacturing of semiconductor chips to reduce reliance on foreign supply chains.

•The Inflation Reduction Act: The largest federal investment in fighting climate change and green energy in U.S. history, which also gave Medicare the power to negotiate lower prescription drug prices and capped insulin costs for seniors.

2.Economic Recovery: Under his administration, the U.S. economy recovered from the COVID-19 recession faster and more robustly than almost any other developed nation, characterized by record-low unemployment rates and strong job creation.

3.Rebuilding Foreign Alliances: Biden shifted American foreign policy back toward traditional international alliances. He strongly united and expanded NATO in response to Russia’s 2022 invasion of Ukraine, providing critical military and financial aid to counter Russian aggression.

4.Judicial Diversity: Biden appointed numerous diverse judges to the federal judiciary, including Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman to serve on the Supreme Court.

5.Return to Institutional Norms: After the tumultuous end of the previous administration and the January 6 Capitol riot, Biden sought to restore a sense of calm, predictability, and respect for democratic institutions to the White House.

The Case Against His Presidency (Key Criticisms & Failures)

Critics, including political opponents and some disappointed supporters, highlight significant failures and challenges:

1.Inflation and Cost of Living: High inflation, which peaked in 2022, was a defining domestic struggle of his term. While global supply chains and pandemic disruptions played a major role, critics argue that the trillions of dollars in government spending (such as the American Rescue Plan) overstimulated the economy and worsened the cost-of-living crisis. This left many Americans feeling financially strained despite low unemployment.

2.Border and Immigration Policy: The southern U.S. border faced unprecedented levels of migrant crossings during Biden's presidency. Critics accused his administration of failing to secure the border, which strained resources in cities across the country and became a major political vulnerability.

3.Foreign Policy Setbacks:

•The Afghanistan Withdrawal: The August 2021 withdrawal of U.S. troops from Afghanistan was widely criticized as chaotic and poorly planned. It resulted in the swift return of the Taliban and the tragic deaths of 13 U.S. service members, severely damaging Biden’s public approval ratings.

•The Middle East Crisis: His handling of the Israel-Hamas war alienated different segments of his coalition. Progressive and Arab-American voters felt his administration was too supportive of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, while others criticized him for not being supportive enough.

4.Age and Political Leadership: As the oldest sitting president in U.S. history, Biden’s age and physical stumbles were constant sources of public concern. Concerns about his cognitive stamina culminated in a poorly received debate performance in June 2024, leading to immense pressure from his own party. He ultimately ended his re-election campaign in July 2024, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, who went on to lose the 2024 election to Donald Trump.

5.Overreach on Key Policies: Some of his signature attempts to appeal to progressive voters, such as his sweeping plan to cancel student loan debt, were struck down by the Supreme Court as executive overreach.

Conclusion

How Joe Biden is remembered depends largely on which metrics are prioritized. Historians who focus on legislative productivity and economic recovery often rate his presidency highly, comparing his domestic achievements to those of Lyndon B. Johnson or Franklin D. Roosevelt.

Conversely, those who focus on the day-to-day cost of living, border security, foreign policy crises, and the ultimate political outcome of the 2024 election view his single term much more critically. As with many presidencies, a definitive consensus on his legacy will likely take decades to emerge.

Citations (6)

1port.ac.ukAcademic
port.ac.uk
Backs: “Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is a subject of ongoing debate among historians, political scientists, and the public.”
2millercenter.orgAcademic
millercenter.org
Backs: “Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is a subject of ongoing debate among historians, political scientists, and the public.”
3washingtonpost.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
washingtonpost.com
Backs: “His single-term presidency (2021–2025) was marked by historic legislative achievements, a rapid post-pandemic economic recovery, deep political polarization, and persistent challenges both domestically and abroad.”
4unimelb.edu.auAcademic
unimelb.edu.au
Backs: “Return to Institutional Norms: After the tumultuous end of the previous administration and the January 6 Capitol riot, Biden sought to restore a sense of calm, predictability, and respect for democratic institutions to the White House.”
5pbs.orgNews and mediaquality 0.87
pbs.org
Backs: “Inflation and Cost of Living: High inflation, which peaked in 2022, was a defining domestic struggle of his term. While global supply chains and pandemic disruptions played a major role, critics argue that the trillions of dollars in government spending (such as the American Rescue Plan) overstimulated the economy and…”
6ballotpedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.89
ballotpedia.org
Backs: “He ultimately ended his re-election campaign in July 2024, endorsing Vice President Kamala Harris, who went on to lose the 2024 election to Donald Trump. Overreach on Key Policies: Some of his signature attempts to appeal to progressive voters, such as his sweeping plan to cancel student loan debt, were struck down by…”