One-quarter in new poll say Biden was 'good' or 'great' president

Only one-quarter of Americans said President Biden was a “good” or “great” president, getting lower approval numbers than President-elect Trump at the end of his first and former President Obama at the end of his second term, according to a new survey released on Friday. 

The new The Associated Press (AP)-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research found that just 25 percent of U.S. adults thought of Biden as a “good” or “great” president. During the same period four years ago, 36 percent of respondents said the same about Trump while 52 percent characterized Obama in the same light eight years ago. 

Around 47 percent said Biden was a “poor” or “terrible” president, a similar sentiment displayed four years ago when 49 percent said the same thing about Trump as his first run in the Oval Office was coming to an end, according to the survey. 

Nearly one-in-three respondents, 28 percent, said Biden was an “average” commander-in-chief, a higher number than Trump’s 15 percent four years ago. 

Only one-in-10 in his party described Biden as a “great” president whereas around four-in-10 said he was a “good” U.S. president, according to the poll. Around 34 percent of Independents said he was an “average” president while only 10 percent thought he was “good” or great” during his time in the White House. 

Biden’s approval rating was at 39 percent, just one point higher than at the start of 2024. 

A Gallup poll from earlier this week found that more Americans will have a negative view of Biden’s time in the Oval Office than positive. Around 54 percent of Americans said he would be seen as either a “poor” or “below average” president. 

The survey was conducted from Dec. 5-9, 2024 among 1,251 adults. The margin of error was 3.7 percentage points.