Why Joe Biden was Better Than you Remember

On January 20th, 2025, President Donald Trump was inaugurated into office for his second presidential term. Although Trump was the center of attention that day, former president Joe Biden stepped down, giving Trump the presidential power which he had resided over for the previous four years. In those four years, despite the unprecedented situations he received, and the negative attention given to him by many, Joe Biden proved to be one of the better presidents in United States history.

As we all know, the Coronavirus pandemic shut down the world in 2020, sending the economy into what could have been a recession. However, Biden’s economic actions, such as continuing stimulus checks, launched the economy back up to the heights of the average U.S. economy. He also created 16 million jobs during his time in office, in stark contrast to the two and half million jobs lost under Trump’s first term. Biden’s massive increase in jobs led to the lowest unemployment rate seen in the US during the last half-century.

Although yes, we saw a high inflation rate under Biden, so did everyone else. Due to COVID’s effect on jobs, supply went down, leading to higher prices around the world. From 2020-2022, directly after Covid, France and the United Kingdom saw very similar inflation rates to the U.S. Other first world countries like Spain, Portugal, Denmark, and Ireland, along with others, saw even higher rates.  Italy, Israel, and Greece even saw inflation rates over 20 percent! For comparison, the U.S.’s rate was one 4 percent, which is five times less than the previously mentioned nations.  It should be evident then, that Biden, despite the terrible economic hand he was dealt, led the U.S. from the ashes of COVID about as well as any leader could.

The biggest criticism of Biden’s presidency was his foreign policy, specifically his handling of Afghanistan and Gaza.

While the Biden’s responses were not great, both situations were incredibly tricky. For example, the removal of troops  from Afghanistan itself was not the best maneuver; however, Trump had already made an agreement to remove the troops, and Biden did what had to be done. In Gaza, the whole situation was, and still is, incredibly messy. Despite this, Biden and his efforts have resulted in a ceasefire agreement, which has temporarily stopped the conflict.

Domestic policy, however, might have been Biden’s biggest success. Not only did he oversee a great economy, but he passed a trillion dollar bipartisan infrastructure project to help rebuild our nation’s roads, bridges, airports, and other infrastructure. His trillion dollar infrastructure project aided every. single. American.

Another important bill was the Inflation Reduction Act, which, among other things, resulted in a $35 a month cap on insulin and lowered prices on other drugs and medications. This cap on insulin greatly aided every diabetic, who make up over 10% of our country’s population.

The Inflation Reduction Act not only helped with infrastructure and drug costs, but also was the most important piece of legislation regarding climate change in United States history. It helped stifle greenhouse gases and toxic spills, along with helping us adapt to climate change through government funding of programs. Additionally, it gave tax write-offs to homes and businesses using greener energy.

In conclusion, former President Joe Biden did an excellent job leading our nation through unprecedented time. His economic, domestic, foreign, and environmental policies helped lead the U.S. through COVID and make the U.S. come back just as strong. Many people do not have a positive opinion of him; however, with all the good he did, he should go down as a good president. Former senior advisor to president Obama, David Axelrod, summed up Biden’s legacy very well by saying,

“His legacy is significant beyond all his many accomplishments. He will always be the man who stepped up and defeated a president who placed himself above our democracy. That, alone, is an historic accomplishment.”