Sure, Trump is awful. But that doesn't mean Biden is a good choice for president.

I am baffled by a question I hear frequently from readers: “How can you criticize President Joe Biden when former President Donald Trump is so awful?”

To be fair, I hear the same sentiment from Republicans when I point out Trump’s flaws (“But Biden is so terrible …”). The question and comments imply that Americans must choose between the lesser of two evils in November 2024. I find that hard to accept, considering we live in the greatest country in the world.

A colleague of mine recently put it this way: “If you ask me whether I want a skull fracture or a broken leg, I’m going to vote for neither one.”

I would agree. Surely the United States can do better than that.

There’s no question that Trump is unfit to lead the country. Even if he is somehow found innocent of all the various charges he’s facing (in four criminal indictments), the turmoil and untruths he has championed since 2020 should be enough to prove he’s unfit for office.

It doesn’t mean that Biden is a good choice to lead the nation.

Another Trump indictment? Republicans, ditch the Trump drama, and find a candidate not embroiled in criminal charges

Don't discount investigations into Biden family

There are myriad reasons why Biden doesn’t deserve a second term in office. From legitimate concerns about his apparent mental and physical deterioration to numerous unconstitutional actions and executive overreach to wild spending, Biden should be a one-term president.

There are other reasons, too.

While apologists want to frame the criminal and congressional investigations into the Biden family enterprise as Republicans trying to “slime” Biden as he campaigns to keep his job, they should be of interest to conservatives and liberals alike.

If anything has brought slime on the Biden family, it was their own actions.

The ongoing investigations are worthy of attention and should not be discounted simply as politically motivated attacks. Yet, that seems to be how many in the news media and Democrats are framing it: Nothing to see here.

The evidence seems to show otherwise. Much of the attention has been on the president’s son Hunter – his legal and personal troubles. Yet, it’s his father's potential involvement in the son's shady foreign business dealings and influence peddling that holds the most weight.

'Bidenomics' in action: Democrats' excessive spending, mounting debt earn US credit downgrade

Hunter’s business acumen is as deep as his ability to sell his connections to his father, who was vice president at the time many of these deals occurred. The Biden family raked in millions through a maze of accounts, which critics say were designed to hide the true beneficiary.

It’s worth noting that the White House has lately changed its tune from Biden “never discussing” business with his son to never having been “in business” with his son.

We shouldn’t take Biden’s word for it.

Make sure special counsel David Weiss' work is above board

After a plea deal – one so lenient the federal judge on the case called it unprecedented – for Hunter Biden recently fell through, Attorney General Merrick Garland appointed a special counsel this month to investigate the criminal case against the president’s son.

That’s a step in the right direction and should have happened long ago. But it’s far from a perfect scenario.

It still smacks of favoritism for Hunter, coming from the Justice Department that his father’s administration leads.

Opinion alerts: Get columns from your favorite columnists + expert analysis on top issues, delivered straight to your device through the USA TODAY app. Don't have the app? Download it for free from your app store.

Garland chose David Weiss as special counsel, which raised eyebrows among Republicans. Weiss is the U.S. attorney from Delaware who led the five-year investigation into Hunter, and is the same prosecutor who helped arrange the now-kaput sweetheart deal.

While special counsel status will give Weiss additional independence and freedom, his appointment violates federal regulations that clearly state the appointee should be someone outside the Justice Department. That’s not the case with Weiss.

Trump’s alleged wrongdoings will get their airing in court, as they should. So should Biden’s.

Ingrid Jacques is a columnist at USA TODAY. Contact her at [email protected] or on Twitter: @Ingrid_Jacques 

You can read diverse opinions from our Board of Contributors and other writers on the Opinion front page, on Twitter @usatodayopinion and in our daily Opinion newsletter. To respond to a column, submit a comment to [email protected].

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Biden has problems of his own: Don't discount Hunter investigation