Was Joe Biden a good president?

Whether Joe Biden was a "good" president is a matter of political opinion rather than an objective fact, and reasonable people disagree based on their values and priorities. I can lay out the major accomplishments and criticisms that are typically cited, so you can weigh them yourself.There's no single objective answer to this—it depends heavily on your political values and priorities—but here's a balanced rundown of what supporters and critics point to, plus how different assessments have landed.

Case for a positive legacy

Supporters highlight several significant achievements:

•Pandemic response: Managing the COVID-19 crisis, he succeeded in passing a $1.9 trillion economic relief plan, which included direct financial assistance to households, accelerated vaccination efforts, and support for businesses, helping reduce unemployment from 6.4% in early 2021 to 3.6% in 2023. One historian noted his quick action to address COVID-19, including expediting vaccinations and steering the American Rescue Plan to passage, contributed to a "first 100 days" more robust in achievement than perhaps any president since FDR.

•Infrastructure and industrial policy: He passed a $1.2 trillion infrastructure modernization plan covering transportation, broadband, and renewable energy, plus the Inflation Reduction Act, which allocated $369 billion for renewable energy and climate.

•Economy/jobs: The administration's economic performance exceeded many forecasters' expectations, especially in job creation — Biden will be the first president under whom jobs were created during every month in office, with 2.23 million jobs created in his final year.

•Fiscal record: Supporters assert that Biden inherited a pandemic crisis and enacted vital stimulus spending to resuscitate the economy, undertook key investments in long-neglected areas, defended Social Security and Medicare against cuts, and still left with a smaller budget deficit than the one he inherited.

•Bipartisanship: Biden succeeded at a lot of things during his term and much of it was bipartisan — restoring bipartisanship was one promise he was able to keep.

Case against / major criticisms

•Afghanistan withdrawal: The chaos and confusion of the withdrawal from Afghanistan rightly drew criticism – especially the deaths of 13 US service members, though while the withdrawal itself was the right decision, Biden is linked to the end of a war that dragged on for two decades, costing hundreds of thousands of lives and more than $2 trillion.

•Inflation and economic pain: Critics believe that the economy was already re-opening from the pandemic when Biden took office and that his programs only served to raise inflation. Voter dissatisfaction with the economy under Biden's administration, such as decades-high levels of inflation and record-breaking gas prices, was a major factor in the 2024 election.

•Border/immigration: Border security was a major misstep early in Biden's presidency according to political analysts.

•2024 decision to run and the debate: If Biden had announced his decision not to run earlier, he could have been "heralded for statesmanship and selflessness," but the debate was widely regarded as disastrous, with Democratic figures calling for Biden to withdraw from the race.

•Foreign policy criticism: On Ukraine, his administration provided just enough support to resist the Russian invasion but with constant concern about "escalation," with criticism it wasn't enough to seriously dent Russia's military capability — Biden was accused from different quarters of doing both too little and too much.

How different groups rate him

•Public opinion: A late-2024 Gallup poll found fifty-four percent of U.S. adults believe Biden will be remembered as a "below average" (17%) or "poor" (37%) president, while 19% say he will be evaluated as "outstanding" (6%) or "above average" (13%), and right now, he is evaluated similarly to Nixon, who resigned from the White House amid the Watergate scandal.

•Historians/scholars: A 2024 survey of presidential scholars painted a more favorable picture — Biden scored an average of 62.66, putting him two spots above Ronald Reagan, ranking him the 14th greatest president in U.S. history, according to a newly released survey of historians. Notably, Democrats were the most favorable, giving him an average rating of 66.88, while Biden was rated at 47.69 by Republicans and 57 by independents. As Wikipedia's summary puts it, Biden's administration is ranked favorably by historians and scholars, diverging from public assessments of his tenure.

Bottom line: There's a real split between scholarly/historical assessments (which tend to rank him in the upper-middle tier of presidents, citing pandemic management and legislative achievements) and public opinion (which skews more negative, driven largely by inflation, the chaotic Afghanistan exit, border issues, and the fallout from his 2024 campaign and debate performance). Your own answer to "was he good" will largely track which of these lenses — and which political priorities — you weight most heavily.

Citations (20)

1moderndiplomacy.euNews and media
Biden's Legacy: Achievements and Failures of a President - Modern Diplomacy
Source excerpt: “One of Biden’s main priorities at the start of his presidency was addressing the economic and health crises caused by COVID-19. In this regard, he suc...”
2yahoo.comNews and mediaquality 0.69
Biden's legacy: Historians weigh in on how the 46th president will be remembered
Source excerpt: “"His quick action upon taking office to address the COVID-19 pandemic, including expediting vaccinations and steering the American Rescue Plan to pass...”
3moderndiplomacy.euNews and media
Biden's Legacy: Achievements and Failures of a President - Modern Diplomacy
Source excerpt: “**Infrastructure Transformation** Another major achievement of Biden’s presidency was the passage of a $1.2 trillion infrastructure modernization pla...”
4port.ac.ukAcademic
joe bidens legacy four successes and four failures
Source excerpt: “Economic improvements The administration’s economic performance exceeded many forecasters’ expectations, especially in job creation. Biden will be th...”
5brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
Biden’s fiscal legacy
Source excerpt: “Supporters assert that Biden inherited a pandemic crisis and enacted vital stimulus spending to resuscitate the economy, undertook key investments in ...”
6substack.comBlogs and newsletters
Assessing the Biden presidency
Source excerpt: “Biden succeeded at a lot of things during his term and much of it was bipartisan. Of all the promises he made in 2020, restoring bipartisanship was on...”
7unimelb.edu.auAcademic
Assessing Joe Biden’s Legacy
Source excerpt: “The chaos and confusion of the withdrawal from Afghanistan rightly drew criticism – especially the deaths of 13 US service members. ”
8unimelb.edu.auAcademic
Assessing Joe Biden’s Legacy
Source excerpt: “While the withdrawal itself was the right decision, Biden is linked to the end of a war that dragged on for two decades, costing hundreds of thousands...”
9brookings.eduNonprofits and think tanks
Biden’s fiscal legacy
Source excerpt: “Critics believe that the economy that was already re-opening from the pandemic when Biden took office and that his programs only served to raise infla...”
10newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Joe Biden’s Six Biggest Blunders That Tarnished His Legacy - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “Lack of Clear Messaging Harris' election defeat was largely attributed to voter dissatisfaction with the economy under Biden's administration, such as...”
11newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Joe Biden’s Six Biggest Blunders That Tarnished His Legacy - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “Borick described this lack of attention to border issues as a major misstep early in Biden's presidency. ”
12newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Joe Biden’s Six Biggest Blunders That Tarnished His Legacy - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “Christopher Borick, director of the Muhlenberg College Institute of Public Opinion, told Newsweek that if Biden had announced his decision not to run ...”
13newsweek.comNews and mediaquality 0.82
Joe Biden’s Six Biggest Blunders That Tarnished His Legacy - Newsweek
Source excerpt: “The debate was widely regarded as disastrous, with Democratic figures calling for Biden to withdraw from the race and suggestions the president's team...”
14unimelb.edu.auAcademic
Assessing Joe Biden’s Legacy
Source excerpt: “His administration provided just enough support to Ukraine to resist the Russian invasion, but with constant concern about “escalation”, criticism cam...”
15gallup.comCompanies
Americans Think History Will Rate Biden Presidency Negatively
Source excerpt: “Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults believe Biden will be remembered as a “below average” (17%) or “poor” (37%) president, while 19% say he will be eval...”
16gallup.comCompanies
Americans Think History Will Rate Biden Presidency Negatively
Source excerpt: “Right now, he is evaluated similarly to Nixon, who resigned from the White House amid the Watergate scandal. ”
17axios.comNews and mediaquality 0.90
Presidents Day survey: Trump ranked last by historians, Biden 14th
Source excerpt: “**Zoom in:** Abraham Lincoln topped the list with an average score of 95, while Biden scored an average of 62.66. That put him two spots above Ronald ...”
18yahoo.comNews and mediaquality 0.69
Historians rank Joe Biden as 14th-greatest US president; Lincoln in 1st, Trump in last
Source excerpt: “Delaware's own Joe Biden has been ranked the 14th greatest president in U.S. history, according to a newly released survey of historians. ”
19yahoo.comNews and mediaquality 0.69
Historians rank Joe Biden as 14th-greatest US president; Lincoln in 1st, Trump in last
Source excerpt: “Democrats were the most favorable of Biden, giving him an average greatness rating of 66.88. Biden was rated at 47.69 by Republicans, 57 by independ...”
20wikipedia.orgEncyclopedias and referencequality 0.83
Joe Biden%27s farewell address
Source excerpt: “Biden's administration is [ranked favorably](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Historical_rankings_of_presidents_of_the_United_States#Scholar_survey_summa...”