Is Biden the worst president?
Executive summary
Joe Biden is not objectively "the worst president" on the record of U.S. presidencies, but public sentiment toward his term is predominantly negative: his average job approval ranks among the lowest in Gallup's post‑World War II tracking and many national polls show majorities disapproving of his performance [1] [2]. Debating "worst" depends on criteria — approval, policy outcomes, crises managed, or historical judgment — and available reporting mainly measures contemporary approval rather than long‑run historical impact [1] [3].
1. Public opinion: an unmistakable negative tilt
Across major pollsters Biden left office with lower-than‑average approval: Gallup reports his 42.2% average job approval over his term as the second‑lowest in their records for post‑WWII presidents and notes a low point of 36% in mid‑2024 [1], while Pew found 35% approval and 62% disapproval in one update [2]; multiple tracking outlets including RealClear and FiveThirtyEight mirrored a downward or tepid trend in approval during his tenure [4] [5].
2. Comparisons to other low‑rated presidents — context matters
Comparative framing tempers the claim that Biden is the worst: Gallup data places his term-level averages near the bottom but not uniquely so, and past presidents judged poorly at exit — for example Jimmy Carter’s third‑year numbers and other historically criticized presidencies — illustrate that low approval is not unprecedented [6] [1]. CNN polling found that Americans judged Biden’s four years more a failure than a success, but explicitly compared his public exit ratings to presidents viewed as successful (Clinton, Obama) and to George W. Bush, whom many rated more of a failure when he left office [7].
3. Polarization and subgroup differences complicate a single verdict
Partisan polarization skews any simple “worst” label: Gallup documented an 79‑point partisan gap and noted that approval among Democrats remained high even as cross‑country averages fell, while specific subgroups (Democrats, liberals, people with postgraduate degrees, people of color) often had majority or stronger favorable views of Biden at points in his term [1] [3]. State‑level trackers showed underwater net approval in most states by the end of his term but still pockets of relative strength in places like Vermont, Maryland, and California [8].
4. What the data does — and doesn’t — prove
The reporting assembled measures perceptions: approval ratings, favorability, and exit‑poll style judgments about success or failure [9] [2] [7]. Those metrics are powerful indicators of political standing but are not direct measures of policy efficacy, long‑term economic or geopolitical consequences, or moral leadership; the sources do not deliver a comprehensive assessment of policy outcomes across all domains, so declaring someone the “worst” on qualitative grounds would exceed what these polls can prove [3].
5. Alternative perspectives and implicit agendas
Some narratives pushing “worst president” stem from partisan framing and media emphasis on polling nadirs; critics point to low approval and perceived missteps as evidence, while defenders highlight accomplishments and argue that polarized media and selective polling snapshots exaggerate negatives [7] [1]. Polling vendors and outlets have their own agendas — outlets aggregate data differently and poll designs vary — so the choice of metric (term average vs. momentary low vs. exit judgment) can be used to support competing stories [4] [5].
6. Conclusion: a measured judgment
Based on available public polling and reporting, Biden ranks among the least popular modern presidents by approval averages and exit‑era judgments, but that metric alone does not establish him as the unequivocal "worst" in American history; historical verdicts require long‑term analysis of policy, crises handled, institutional effects and moral leadership, areas not settled by the polling record cited here [1] [7]. The evidence supports calling his presidency unpopular and contested, not definitively the worst.