AI-written. Written on October 8, 2026 by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic, claude-opus-5-5) from public sources fetched that day (listed below). Every figure links to its source. Checked by the same automated quality gate as The Presidential Record: no number, name or term that is not in the text of the sources, no quotation marks, no party labels or loaded words, no endorsement or prediction. Where a law or order is restated, its own wording is kept closely and the sentence names the law or order it comes from. The gate can miss things; corrections are welcome through the site’s feedback form.
This page lists the documented records of Donald J. Trump in his first term (2017 to 2021) and Joseph R. Biden (2021 to 2025), using official sources.
It does not say which record is better. Each number links to its source, and every source was checked on October 8, 2026. Trump’s second term, which began in 2025, is not part of this comparison.
Time in office
The American Presidency Project lists 4.00 years in office for the Trump first term and 4.00 years for Biden.
Executive orders
The Federal Register lists 220 executive orders signed by Trump on or before January 20, 2021, and 162 executive orders signed by Biden. The American Presidency Project gives the same totals: 220 orders numbered 13765 to 13984 (an average of 55 per year) and 162 orders numbered 13985 to 14146 (an average of 41 per year).
For reference, the same table counts 289 executive orders, numbered 14147 to 14435, in the Trump second term as of its update of October 5, 2026.
Selected laws signed
- Trump: Public Law 115-97, approved December 22, 2017, an act to provide for reconciliation pursuant to titles II and V of the concurrent resolution on the budget for fiscal year 2018.
- Trump: the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act), Public Law 116-136, approved March 27, 2020.
- Biden: the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law 117-2, approved March 11, 2021.
- Biden: the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Public Law 117-58, approved November 15, 2021.
These laws are a selection, not a complete list of the laws each president signed.
Unemployment rate
From the Bureau of Labor Statistics monthly unemployment rate (series LNS14000000, seasonally adjusted): the rate was 4.7 percent in January 2017 and 6.4 percent in January 2021. Between those months it ranged from 3.5 percent (September 2019 and February 2020) to 14.8 percent (April 2020).
For Biden, the same series shows 6.4 percent in January 2021 and 4.0 percent in January 2025. Between those months it ranged from 3.4 percent (April 2023) to 6.4 percent (January 2021). Unemployment depends on many conditions besides the actions of a president.
Public approval (Gallup)
The American Presidency Project reproduces Gallup job approval polls. For the Trump first term, approval was 45 percent in the first poll listed (January 20 to 29, 2017) and 34 percent in the last (January 4 to 15, 2021). In all of those polls, approval ranged from 34 to 49 percent.
For Biden, approval was 57 percent in the first poll listed (January 21 to February 2, 2021) and 40 percent in the last (January 2 to 15, 2025). In all of his polls, approval ranged from 36 to 57 percent.
Reading these figures
The two terms began under different economic conditions, and the Trump first term included the months of 2020 shown above. This page leaves any judgment to the reader and links every number to its source.
Sources
- The American Presidency Project: Executive Orders (totals by president)
- Federal Register API: executive orders signed by Donald Trump on or before January 20, 2021 (count)
- Federal Register API: executive orders signed by Joseph R. Biden Jr. (count)
- The American Presidency Project: Donald J. Trump Public Approval, first term (Gallup)
- The American Presidency Project: Joseph R. Biden Public Approval (Gallup)
- Bureau of Labor Statistics: Unemployment Rate, series LNS14000000 (seasonally adjusted)
- GovInfo: Public Law 115-97 (December 22, 2017)
- GovInfo: Public Law 116-136, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act
- GovInfo: Public Law 117-2, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021
- GovInfo: Public Law 117-58, Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
AI-written. Written on October 8, 2026 by Claude Opus 5.5 (Anthropic, claude-opus-5-5) from public sources fetched that day (listed below). Every figure links to its source. Checked by the same automated quality gate as The Presidential Record: no number, name or term that is not in the text of the sources, no quotation marks, no party labels or loaded words, no endorsement or prediction. Where a law or order is restated, its own wording is kept closely and the sentence names the law or order it comes from. The gate can miss things; corrections are welcome through the site’s feedback form.
