Was Joe Biden a good president?

This is a question about political/historical judgment where reasonable people disagree based on their values and priorities, so I can't give you a definitive "yes" or "no." But I can lay out some of the major things that happened during his presidency so you can weigh them yourself.

Economic record

•Signed major legislation including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act

•Unemployment remained low for much of his term

•Inflation surged significantly in 2021-2022 (peaking around 9%), which became a major political liability and drove up costs of living

•Student loan forgiveness efforts were largely blocked or limited by courts

Foreign policy

•Oversaw the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021

•Led Western support for Ukraine after Russia's 2022 invasion

•Managed U.S. response to the Israel-Hamas war starting in 2023

Domestic policy

•Passed the American Rescue Plan (COVID relief) early in his term

•Nominated Ketanji Brown Jackson, the first Black woman on the Supreme Court

•Record numbers of migrant crossings at the southern border became a major political issue

Political fallout

•His approval ratings were generally low for much of his presidency, particularly tied to inflation and immigration concerns

•His age and fitness for office became a major issue, especially after his June 2024 debate performance against Trump, leading him to drop out of the 2024 race

How people evaluate this varies a lot:

•Supporters point to legislative achievements, job growth, and alliance-building (NATO/Ukraine) as successes

•Critics point to inflation, border policy, the Afghanistan withdrawal, and questions about his mental acuity as major failures

If you want, I can go deeper into any specific area—economy, foreign policy, a particular piece of legislation, or how historians/pollsters are currently assessing his presidency. Would that be helpful?

Was Joe Biden a good president?

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