WASHINGTON, DC – Many more Americans expect history to judge Joe Biden’s presidency more negatively than positively. 54 percent of U.S. adults believe Biden will be remembered as an “underperforming” (37%) or “poor” (17%) president, while 19% say he will be remembered as “excellent” (6%) or “ “bad” (6%). above average” (13%). Another 26% believe he is considered “average.”

Compared to nine recent presidents included in the new Gallup poll, Biden performs most similarly to Richard Nixon, who has a net rating of -42 (12% excellent or above average versus 54% below average or poor). Biden receives more “poor” ratings than Nixon (37% vs. 30%), but Biden receives more outstanding or above-average ratings.

George W. Bush and Donald Trump also receive more negative ratings than positive ratings among recent presidents, with Trump having both relatively high positive (40%) and negative ratings (44%) and the lowest average ratings (16%) for his first term. received. Trump’s “poor” ratings of 31% are similar to Nixon’s, but Trump’s “excellent” ratings of 17% are higher than most other presidents.

John Kennedy is rated highest by Americans – with a net rating of +68, while Ronald Reagan (+38) and Barack Obama (+21) also receive significantly positive ratings.

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The results are based on a Gallup poll conducted December 2-18. The poll was completed before Jimmy Carter’s death on December 29, which may have influenced the way people remember his presidency. Carter, along with Bill Clinton and George HW Bush, receive slightly more outstanding or above-average ratings from Americans than below-average or poor ratings.

Democrats give Biden lukewarm criticism; Republicans mostly critical

More Democrats expect history to be more positive than critical of the Biden presidency – 44% say it is outstanding or above average, while 16% say it is below average or poor. But almost as many Democrats believe Biden will be remembered as an “average” president (38%) as a good one.

Independents and Republicans are much more pessimistic about Biden’s presidency. A narrow majority of independents, 51%, believe Biden will receive a negative historical rating, compared to 15% who believe he will receive a positive rating. The vast majority of Republicans expect history to judge Biden harshly, including 76% who say he will be viewed as a “poor” president and 17% who say he is below average.

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Democrats’ net rating for Biden’s presidency at +28 is significantly lower than their ratings of other current Democratic presidents, with Clinton being the next lowest rating at +43. Biden is the only Democrat in recent memory to receive a net negative rating among political independents, and his -92 net rating among Republicans is more than 40 points worse than any other Democratic president.

Kennedy is the only president to receive positive criticism from opposition party supporters. In fact, Republicans rate Kennedy similarly to Democrats and better than independents. Democrats rate Obama as the best Democratic president.

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Trump receives the most polarized ratings among Republican presidents, even more so than Biden among Democratic presidents. Republicans believe Trump is on par with Reagan and has the best legacy as president. In contrast, Democrats believe history will judge Trump’s first term worse than Nixon’s presidency. More independents expect Trump to receive a negative rather than positive rating, but independents rate Nixon lower.

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Reagan is the only Republican president whom Democrats do not rate negatively, although the older George Bush is also rated relatively neutrally by Democrats. Independents rate two Republican presidents — Reagan and the elder Bush — positively overall.

Nixon is the only president who is viewed more negatively than positively by his own party’s supporters. Republicans view the two Bush presidents significantly less favorably than Trump and Reagan, but still view them positively overall.

Trump’s first term is rated much better now than it was at the end

Trump’s ratings have improved significantly since he left office in January 2021 following the Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol and the peak of U.S. deaths from COVID-19. At the time, 29% of Americans thought history would judge Trump as an outstanding or above-average president, 10% as average, and 61% as below-average or poor.

The -32 net rating that Trump had in 2021 has improved to -4. Since 2021, there has been a larger decline in below-average or poor ratings from Trump’s first term (down 17 points) than the increase in excellent or above-average ratings (up 11 points).

The largest decline in below-average or poor ratings of Trump was among independents (dropping from 63% to 47%), but all party groups saw significant declines in negative ratings of his first term. The largest increase in outstanding or above average ratings is among Republicans, from 72% to 86%.

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Trump is not the only president whose historical legacy has improved compared to his rating at the end of his presidency.

• George W. Bush’s ratings when he left office in 2009 were similar to those of Biden today – 59% negative and 17% positive. But the gap between negative and positive ratings of Bush has narrowed to nine points (24% positive, 33% negative).
• Carter had a 14% positive rating and a 46% negative rating in December 1980, but now receives more positive ratings than negative ratings.
• Opinions about Obama’s presidency are currently slightly better than in 2017, due to fewer below-average or poor ratings.

Reagan’s ratings have changed little since the end of his presidency, while George HW Bush’s and Clinton’s ratings have deteriorated.

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Conclusion

Americans don’t expect history to be kind when it judges Biden’s presidency. He is currently rated similarly to Nixon, who resigned from the White House in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Biden’s fellow Democrats are less enthusiastic about his presidency than other current Democratic presidents, and Biden is the only current Democratic president currently viewed negatively by independents overall. However, previous presidents who completed challenging terms in office, including Carter, George W. Bush and Trump, have seen the harsh reviews they received at the time of their departure from the White House weaken significantly over time.

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