Joe Biden, sometimes referred to as "Sleepy Joe," appears destined to live out his final days as one of the most widely reviled figures in American politics. According to a recent Gallup survey, just 39 percent of Americans said they had a favorable opinion of Biden, compared with 57 percent who said they had an unfavorable opinion. He is the least popular living former president by a considerable margin.
Donald Trump is held in far higher esteem, according to the survey, with 48 percent viewing him positively and 50 percent negatively. Bill Clinton, the disgraced philanderer with ties to notorious sex trafficker Jeffrey Epstein, also registered a favorability rating of 48 percent, with 41 percent of respondents expressing an unfavorable opinion. George W. Bush was rated significantly higher than Biden at 52 percent favorable and 34 percent unfavorable. Barack H. Obama received the highest rating at 59 percent favorable and 36 percent unfavorable. This is likely due to the fact that Obama's ham-fisted attempts to intervene in the 2024 election, which included scolding black men for hating women, almost certainly played a role in Trump's victory.
As was often the case throughout his decades-long career in politics, the American public's perception of Biden is dramatically at odds with his opinion of himself. In the early stages of his term, Biden surrounded himself with elite historians who insisted he would be remembered as a transformative figure in the mold of Abraham Lincoln or Franklin Roosevelt. He ended his term by pardoning his crackhead son and other members of his family, having successfully united his fellow Democrats around the idea that his decision to seek a second term was a shameful act of deranged narcissism.
In his farewell address to the nation, Biden seemed confident that Americans would thank him later for all of his remarkable accomplishments. "You know, it will take time to feel the full impact of all we've done together, but the seeds are planted, and they'll grow and they'll bloom for decades to come," he read from the teleprompter.
It's true that Biden might not be regarded as the worst living former president for very long. Not because public opinion is likely to change, but because despite having just left office, Biden is also the oldest living former president. His brain and body will continue to deteriorate, which means Michelle Obama may soon need a different excuse for skipping another presidential funeral.