Was Joe Biden a good president?

Both sidesSays it is contested

A good-president question is subjective — I'll pull Biden's record, ratings and rankings to give a balanced view.

Whether Joe Biden was a good president is subjective and evaluations differ sharply between historians/scholars and the general public, and between supporters and critics.

Tenure and Context

Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. served as the 46th president from January 20, 2021 to January 20, 2025. As president he signed the American Rescue Plan Act in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, along with bipartisan bills on infrastructure and manufacturing.

Concerns about Biden's age and health persisted throughout his presidency, and he is the first president to turn 80 while in office.

Arguments That He Was Effective - Legislative Record

Supporters point to a historically active legislative record:

•American Rescue Plan - $1.9 trillion COVID-19 economic relief package

•Bipartisan Infrastructure Law - $1.2 trillion, described as the largest infrastructure investment in decades

•CHIPS Act - $52 billion committed to domestic semiconductor manufacturing

•Inflation Reduction Act - $369 billion in climate and clean energy investment, described as the largest climate legislation in US history

Other cited achievements include modernizing roads, broadband and semiconductor manufacturing through the Infrastructure Law and CHIPS Act, capping insulin at $35 for seniors and enabling Medicare to negotiate drug prices, and unifying NATO allies in response to Russia's February 2022 invasion of Ukraine.

Some evaluations describe his presidency as nuanced, recognizing both achievements and shortcomings.

Arguments That He Was Not Effective - Criticisms and Public Opinion

Common criticisms cited by opponents and in polls include:

•The top answers when voters were asked for the worst things about his presidency were: inflation, the state of the southern border, and the botched withdrawal from Afghanistan.

•Economic challenges: inflation peaked at 9.1% in 2022, driven by supply chain issues and global events.

Public approval reflected these concerns:

•His final approval reading before leaving office was 40% in Gallup's January 2-15, 2025 survey. That placed him above Nixon at 24%, Truman at 32%, Carter and George W. Bush at 34% each, but well below Obama (59%) and others.

•His 42.2% average for his term is the second lowest in Gallup records, and he enjoyed solid ratings above 50% during the first six months but once support declined about midway through his first year it never recovered.

•Fifty-four percent of U.S. adults expect that Joe Biden will go down in history as a below-average or poor president, while 26% say average and 19% outstanding or above average.

One commentator summarized the critical view as "Joe Biden was ultimately a weak president".

How Historians Have Ranked Him

Scholarly rankings have been more favorable than public polls:

•The Siena College Research Institute poll of 141 presidential scholars ranked Biden at #19.

•The 2024 Presidential Greatness Project Expert survey ranked Biden 14th. The pollsters noted that Biden's ranking was unusually high for a presidency without military victories or institutional expansion.

A separate Siena survey from the prior year also placed him 19th among U.S. presidents, contrasting with lower public assessments.

Bottom Line

•If measured by legislative output, alliance management, and historian rankings, supporters argue Biden was above-average, with major investments in infrastructure, manufacturing, climate, and health costs.

•If measured by public approval, inflation, border and Afghanistan handling, and perceptions of age/fitness, critics and a majority of polled Americans rate him below average or poor.

As with most presidencies, history's final judgment often evolves over decades as long-term effects of legislation become clearer.

Citations (1)

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Joe Biden
Backs: “Whether Joe Biden was a good president is subjective and evaluations differ sharply between historians/scholars and the general public, and between supporters and critics. Tenure and Context”
background, reference entry, neutral. Claim: Evaluations of Biden's presidency differ sharply between historians/scholars and the general public, and between supporters and critics.