Was Joe Biden a good president?

Assessing whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is a complex and highly subjective question. Because his presidency (2021–2025) occurred during a period of deep national polarization, evaluations of his legacy vary significantly depending on political and economic perspectives.

To understand his presidency, it is helpful to look at both the major accomplishments his supporters highlight and the prominent criticisms raised by his detractors.

Arguments in Favor of His Presidency (The Accomplishments)

Supporters and progressive historians often argue that Biden was a highly consequential, effective president who successfully navigated the country through a once-in-a-century pandemic and achieved historic legislative milestones.

•Major Legislative Achievements: Despite working with a razor-thin congressional majority, Biden passed some of the most significant domestic investments in decades.

•The American Rescue Plan (2021): A $1.9 trillion stimulus package designed to speed up the country’s economic and health recovery from COVID-19.

•The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021): A $1.2 trillion investment to rebuild America's roads, bridges, public transit, water systems, and broadband access.

•The CHIPS and Science Act (2022): Legislation aimed at bringing high-tech semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S..

•The Inflation Reduction Act (2022): The largest federal investment in green energy and climate change mitigation in U.S. history, which also allowed Medicare to negotiate prescription drug prices and capped insulin costs for seniors.

•Strong Labor Market: Under the Biden administration, the U.S. economy experienced historic job growth and record-low unemployment rates, recovering from the pandemic recession faster than almost any other major global economy.

•Rebuilding Foreign Alliances: Biden shifted American foreign policy back toward traditional multilateralism. He mended relationships with European and Asian allies, rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, and effectively unified NATO to support Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion.

•Decorum and "Normalcy": Supporters praised Biden for returning a sense of traditional, predictable governance and decorum to the White House following the turbulent years of the Trump administration.

Arguments Against His Presidency (The Criticisms and Failures)

Critics, including Republicans, independents, and some moderate Democrats, point to persistent economic pain, border management issues, and major foreign policy challenges as defining failures of his administration.

•Inflation and the Cost of Living: The defining political vulnerability of the Biden presidency was inflation, which reached a 40-year high of over 9% in 2022. Critics argue that Biden's massive federal spending packages, particularly the American Rescue Plan, overstimulated the economy and triggered the inflation wave. Though inflation eventually cooled, the resulting high interest rates and increased cost of groceries, housing, and gas severely damaged public perception of his economic leadership.

•Southern Border and Immigration: The Biden administration faced intense criticism for its handling of the U.S.–Mexico border. Migrant crossings reached historic highs during his term, straining local resources in border states and major cities alike. Critics accused him of being too slow to enforce border restrictions, though his administration later enacted strict asylum limits.

•Foreign Policy Setbacks:

•The Afghanistan Withdrawal (2021): The chaotic and tragic pullout of U.S. troops from Afghanistan—which resulted in the deaths of 13 U.S. service members and the rapid return of the Taliban to power—was widely viewed as a disaster and marked a permanent decline in Biden’s public approval ratings.

•The Middle East: Biden's handling of the Israel-Hamas war alienated many within his own party. Progressives and Arab-American voters criticized him for continuing to provide military aid to Israel despite catastrophic civilian casualties in Gaza, while others felt he did not do enough to support America's closest Middle Eastern ally or prevent wider regional conflict.

•Age and the 2024 Campaign: Biden entered office promising to be a "bridge" to a new generation of leaders. However, his decision to run for re-election, despite being the oldest president in U.S. history, drew widespread concern. After a disastrous debate performance in June 2024 highlighted concerns about his cognitive and physical stamina, pressure from within his own party ultimately forced him to withdraw from the race, passing the nomination to Kamala Harris.

How History and the Public View Him

Public sentiment regarding Joe Biden's presidency is starkly divided:

•The Republican/Conservative View: He is largely viewed as a weak leader whose economic policies fueled inflation, whose border policies created a national security crisis, and whose foreign policy projects projected American weakness abroad.

•The Democratic/Progressive View: He is seen as an incredibly consequential one-term president who passed a vast array of progressive legislation, rebuilt the middle class, saved the post-pandemic economy, and selflessly stepped aside for the good of his country in 2024.

•Polling: At the end of his term, public polling reflected this division. A Gallup poll conducted near the end of his presidency found that 54% of Americans expected history to judge his presidency as "below average" or "poor," while 19% expected it to be judged as "outstanding" or "above average," with 26% expecting an "average" legacy—ratings heavily split along partisan lines.

Ultimately, like many presidents, Joe Biden's legacy is a "tale of two presidencies." It will likely take decades for historians to move past the immediate political polarization of the 2020s to establish a consensus on where his administration ranks in American history.

Citations (6)

1cfr.orgNonprofits and think tanks
cfr.org
Backs: “Because his presidency (2021–2025) occurred during a period of deep national polarization, evaluations of his legacy vary significantly depending on political and economic perspectives.”
2wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
wikipedia.org
Backs: “Because his presidency (2021–2025) occurred during a period of deep national polarization, evaluations of his legacy vary significantly depending on political and economic perspectives.”
3washingtonpost.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
washingtonpost.com
Backs: “Supporters and progressive historians often argue that Biden was a highly consequential, effective president who successfully navigated the country through a once-in-a-century pandemic and achieved historic legislative milestones.”
4time.comNews and mediaquality 0.83
time.com
Backs: “The American Rescue Plan (2021): A $1.9 trillion stimulus package designed to speed up the country’s economic and health recovery from COVID-19. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (2021): A $1.2 trillion investment to rebuild America's roads, bridges, public transit, water systems, and broadband access.”
5millercenter.orgAcademic
millercenter.org
Backs: “Rebuilding Foreign Alliances: Biden shifted American foreign policy back toward traditional multilateralism. He mended relationships with European and Asian allies, rejoined the Paris Climate Accord, and effectively unified NATO to support Ukraine following Russia's 2022 invasion.”
6gallup.comCompanies
gallup.com
Backs: “Critics, including Republicans, independents, and some moderate Democrats, point to persistent economic pain, border management issues, and major foreign policy challenges as defining failures of his administration. Inflation and the Cost of Living: The defining political vulnerability of the Biden presidency was…”