Was Biden a good president? I'll look at his record from multiple angles to give you a balanced answer.
Was Joe Biden a good president is a subjective question where evaluations depend heavily on what metrics and priorities you value.
Here is a summary of his record (2021-2025) as assessed by supporters, critics, and polling data:
Legislative and Policy Record
Biden's presidency produced several major laws:
•American Rescue Plan ($1.9T COVID relief), the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law ($1.2T), the CHIPS Act ($52B semiconductor investment), and the Inflation Reduction Act ($369B climate — the largest climate legislation in US history).
•In more detailed accounts, his presidency is described as having a historic legislative record: the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan, the $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS Act committing $52 billion, and the Inflation Reduction Act with $369 billion in climate investment.
•Other accomplishments cited include the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the CHIPS and Science Act, and the Inflation Reduction Act aimed at infrastructure, manufacturing and climate, and appointing the first Black woman to the US Supreme Court, Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson.
Supporters point to domestic policy changes such as:
•Capping insulin at $35 for seniors and enabling Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and specifically capping insulin costs at $35 per month for Medicare recipients and allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices directly
•Expanding high-speed internet, roads and bridges, and clean energy investments through the infrastructure and climate laws.
On foreign policy:
•Supporters credit him with restoring the United States as the anchor of the free world while leading the effort to help Ukraine defend itself against Russian aggression.
•He unified the Western alliance following Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine, securing military aid packages and expanding NATO to include Finland and Sweden.
•He also authorized the drone strike killing al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri in July 2022.
Major Criticisms and Challenges
Critics point to:
•Main criticisms include concerns about inflation, border security and immigration policies, energy policies leading to higher gas prices, handling of the withdrawal from Afghanistan, and perceptions of ineffective leadership.
•Inflation peaked at 9.1% in June 2022 — the highest in 40 years — and proved the defining drag on his approval.
•The chaotic Kabul airport withdrawal images; 13 US troops killed in bombing.
Public Approval
Polling was generally low in the second half of his term:
•A CNN poll near the end of his presidency found 61% believed his presidency was a failure, with his approval rating matching a record low of 36%.
•He left office on January 20, 2025, with a 38% approval rating according to Gallup — the lowest exit approval since Jimmy Carter.
•One Gallup analysis noted: We "do not expect history to be kind when it judges Biden's presidency".
How Historians and Analysts Frame It
Many analysts describe it as a mixed, consequential presidency:
> The record combines substantive policy accomplishments—in infrastructure, industry policy, drug pricing, social supports and judicial appointments—with glaring failures and political liabilities in Afghanistan, inflation control, border politics, and messaging; assessments therefore depend heavily on whether one weights durable institutional change and legislation or immediate crises and political consequences more heavily.
In short:
•If you weight legislative achievements, NATO unity on Ukraine, and expansion of health care/climate investments highly, you are more likely to view the presidency positively.
•If you weight inflation, the Afghanistan withdrawal, border/immigration handling, and concerns about age and the late withdrawal from the 2024 race highly, you are more likely to view it negatively.
Whether the legislative investments will be seen as transformational over decades, or whether the economic and political costs will define his legacy, remains a contested judgment among voters and historians.