President Biden, get on a plane to East Palestine

Anywhere but East Palestine, Ohio.

That’s the apparent theme to President Biden’s itinerary, as the White House announced Tuesday his plans to travel to Selma, Ala., this weekend, according to The Hill.

The president will be there to mark 58 years since Bloody Sunday, a violent clash between 600 civil rights marchers and white police officers on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965 that served as a catalyst for the passage of the Voting Rights Act.

Vice President Kamala Harris went to Selma last year.

The events on the Edmund Pettus Bridge were seminal in the Civil Rights Movement, and even if the 58th anniversary isn’t as symbolic a milestone as the 50th (attended by then-President Barack Obama, who gave a stirring speech, as well as former President George W. Bush), or even the 55th (Obama again), the date is important in our nation’s history.

Surely it is mere coincidence that the 58th anniversary falls during Biden’s maybe run-up to re-election. The optics will be great, just the sort of thing for a campaign ad.

As East Palestine, Ohio is less than a two-hour flight from Selma (flying into Pittsburgh, the nearest airport), Biden could at least tack on a visit to the beleaguered town. It’s a lot closer than Ukraine.

No dice.

The White House has said Biden currently has no plans to visit the area.

Administration officials have noted that Environmental Protection Agency officials have been on the ground since hours after the derailment happened. As one would expect — when a freight trail derailed in a fiery crash on Feb. 3, the hazardous chemicals on board sent up a toxic cloud and contaminated the air and soil. Residents have subsequently reported ailments from nausea to rashes, headaches and trouble breathing.

Of course the EPA would be on sight.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg made the rounds, eventually, and tried to pin the blame on Donald Trump.

But Biden is anywhere but there.

While residents who’ve said they feel abandoned by the government would at least feel some semblance of support that a visit from the president would bring, Biden would likely face cries of “what took you so long?” And we all know how Biden feels about answering questions.

Rep. Bill Johnson, R-Marietta, OH, called on Biden to reach out to the people of East Palestine Tuesday.

“The bright spot in all of this is the work of the first responders, the local mayor, and other local officials and the residents who are determined to get back to normal. But President Biden has been conspicuously silent,” Johnson said according to a Fox affiliate.

“Mr. President it’s past time for you to make the short trip to East Palestine and show up for the 5,000 Americans who call that small Appalachian village home.”

Johnson added “Mr. President, I urge you to show the residents of East Palestine the same respect, the same courtesy, the same love I’m sure you would have shown the residents of a New York or San Francisco had the derailment and chemical spill happened there.”

It’s high time for Air Force One to be Ohio-bound.