Joe Biden has long considered himself a successful and consequential president. He boasts about creating jobs that he didn’t actually create, claiming credit for more job growth than any president in history, despite most of those jobs simply returning after the COVID shutdowns. He presents himself as the leader who ended the war in Afghanistan, conveniently overlooking the disastrous withdrawal that allowed the Taliban to reclaim control.
Perhaps most of all, he views himself as the only Democrat capable of defeating Trump — even if the circumstances surrounding that victory remain questionable. However, regardless of how Biden perceives his legacy, voters have a very different view of him and his presidency.
An exclusive Daily Mail poll reveals that voters consider Biden the worst president in nearly 50 years, faring worse than Jimmy Carter, who was voted out after a single term marked by double-digit inflation and a failed attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran, and even below Richard Nixon, who was forced to resign rather than face impeachment over the devastating Watergate scandal.
The Daily Mail has more:
Yet when 1006 registered voters were asked to rank the last nine presidents in order, from best to worst, Biden came at the very bottom of the table, making him the worst in 47 years.
Some 44 percent placed him as one of the worst two, while only 14 percent placed him in the top two, giving him a net score of 30 points underwater.
That was worse than Nixon, who came out with negative 25, and Donald Trump, with negative 15.
James Johnson, cofounder of J.L. Partners, which conducted the poll, described the results as “diabolical” for Biden.
“There’s always a recency bias, and as Joe Biden is the incumbent, he starts off at a disadvantage there,” Johnson said. “But regardless of that, these numbers are worse than I expected.”
He continued, “Voters have obviously looked at his age, general conduct in office, his botched withdrawal from Afghanistan, the situation at the southern border, and decided that, in their view, it qualifies him to be the worst president in modern history.”
“That’s the position in which he leaves office,” Johnson added. “From the man who beat Trump to the man who let him back in, and who voters feel has been fundamentally a bad president.”
Without a doubt, Joe Biden's presidency was a failure. But something else really bothers me about this poll — Barack Obama ranks so highly in it.
The most disturbing thing about this poll is that Barack Obama ranks so highly. pic.twitter.com/NVNTdEX8qO
— Matt Margolis (@mattmargolis) December 6, 2024
I have quite a lot to say on this issue. I've written a number of books about Obama, including the 2016 bestseller, "The Worst President in History: The Legacy of Barack Obama."
For years, Obama enjoyed such unprecedented positive press that the failures of his presidency were swept under the rug. My book went into tremendous detail, proving that contrary to the popular narrative, Obama's presidency was a disaster, marked by failed policies and a steady stream of scandals.
Related: Ketanji Brown Jackson Vs. Sonia Sotomayor: Who’s Dumber?
This is not to say that Biden hasn't earned the title of "worst president in history," but I think it's a more complicated issue. Biden's presidency was mostly a reset to Obama's policies. Biden was in every sense the third term of Barack Obama — which is why it pains me to see that more Americans still don't recognize that Obama owns Biden's failures as much as Biden does.
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