First, some context. When Biden took office, we were facing not just the still-smoldering embers of a Trump-provoked assault on the Capitol and Congress, but we were in the midst of a pandemic that had killed 100,000 Americans in the preceding five weeks, the economy was teetering on the brink, relations with our allies were frayed, NATO had been weakened, the press had been declared the enemy, the government was undermining its own public health service, our infrastructure was crumbling, and the previous administration had not just ignored but had fueled the intensifying crisis of global warming.

In the ensuing months, the Biden administration, with quiet competence and a steady hand, changed the country’s direction in a variety of ways. First, when the vaccines became available, the administration put in place a distribution system that enabled every American who wanted a vaccination to get one. Unfortunately, because of disinformation and the gullibility of many, the number of vaccinated Americans was far lower than it should have been and deaths remained comparatively high.

Second, the administration shepherded a bipartisan infrastructure bill through Congress, which was long overdue and has resulted in good-paying jobs, historic investment in public transit, reductions in pollution, expansion of affordable high-speed internet, and the rebuilding of roads, bridges and airports.

Third, a focus on making things in America has spurred businesses to announce nearly $300 billion in manufacturing investments, much of it in red states, a strengthening of supply chains and the return of semiconductor production to the U.S.

Fourth, Biden mended relations with our allies and strengthened NATO so that when Putin invaded Ukraine, the United States was able to pull together a coalition of countries to provide both weapons and funding to Ukraine and frustrate what Putin assumed would be an easy victory. It’s easy to imagine what the world’s response to Russia would have been if Trump had still been in the White House.

Fifth, the Biden administration rejoined the Paris Climate Agreement and Congress passed the oddly misnamed Inflation Reduction Act, which is really a clean energy bill that puts America on track to greatly reduce our greenhouse gas emissions.

In the process, the economic recovery Biden has presided over has been nothing short of startling. The inflation most Republicans blame Biden for was a worldwide phenomenon (not Biden’s fault) and now appears to have been caused largely by pandemic-related supply chain breakdowns. As these have been mended and the Fed has implemented interest rate hikes, inflation has dropped to 2.5% per year (lower if you look at the past six months) without tipping us into recession. Many economists are scratching their heads over this unexpected soft landing. Meanwhile, wages have kept pace with inflation, especially for those on the lower end of the wage scale, and the economy has added 14 million jobs. The unemployment rate has been below 4% for nearly two years.

In spite of this, many Americans believe the economy is terrible, even though they say their own finances are fine and they are spending at a brisk pace. This suggests that their gloom over the economy is quite probably a result of believing disinformation.

People think Biden is too old for a second term and that he is not mentally acute. They obviously have not listened to him speak (other than selective soundbites intended to make him look bad). Right now, he and his administration are navigating a terribly difficult situation in Israel and are largely succeeding in supporting Israel while trying to rein in Netanyahu’s overreaction.

Of course, Biden is a flawed human being and he is getting older. But he’s far more fit for office than Donald Trump and is surrounded by competent public servants, not fawning sycophants. His presidency has not been about him. It is about the American people. Going back to the chaos, corruption and incompetence of Trump would be a huge mistake, perhaps even fatal to democracy. We could do a lot worse than Biden. His record is far better than most people give him credit for.

Roger Terry is the editorial director at BYU Studies, a multidisciplinary scholarly journal, and the author of “Economic Insanity: How Growth-Driven Capitalism Is Devouring the American Dream.”