President Joe Biden certainly took his time to finally announce a visit to East Palestine, the site of a massive train derailment a year ago that garnered international attention.

Biden, a Democrat, said a month after the derailment that he eventually would visit the Columbiana County community. He and his press secretary repeated the contention he eventually would show up.

Finally, the White House announced Wednesday that Biden will come to East Palestine sometime in February. No date was given. If a date couldn’t be finalized it probably would have been better to wait until something was set.

But there are plenty of people — including top Republicans, notably Donald Trump — who see this as a political stunt by Biden as the announcement was made just days before Saturday’s one-year anniversary of the Feb. 3, 2023, derailment.

The counter-argument is Biden has nothing to gain politically by visiting East Palestine, which is located in Columbiana County, a Republican stronghold.

Biden, who is running for reelection, isn’t going to win Ohio. He was crushed four years ago by Trump in the state and with the two heading for a rematch in November, there is little doubt the outcome will be the same.

But Biden can show the country that he’s a compassionate president with the White House touting the visit as his opportunity to meet with residents impacted by the “Norfolk Southern train derailment and assess the progress that his administration has helped deliver in coordination with state and local leaders to protect the community and hold Norfolk Southern accountable.”

I don’t see how spending a few hours in East Palestine, surrounded by Secret Service agents, will give Biden a clearer picture than briefings by administration staff, but the visuals may be of some benefit to him — and possibly make some in the village feel better.

Nearly every news report on Biden’s visit will mention it took him more than a year to come to East Palestine.

Asked Wednesday about the timing, Karine Jean-Pierre, Biden’s press secretary, said: “The mayor and community leaders invited the president to meet with East Palestine residents and also assess the recovery progress that’s been going on for some time now, as you all know. So, the president had always said that he would go when it is most helpful to the community. With this invitation — obviously, very recent — and the current status of the recovery, we felt that the time was right.”

East Palestine Mayor Trent Conaway has criticized Biden for not coming to his village, but invited the president again a couple of weeks ago.

Conaway, a Republican, embraced Trump when he visited Feb. 22, 2023, — 19 days after the derailment that released toxic chemicals and caused a temporary evacuation of the village.

During Trump’s stop, the former president criticized the response from Biden and his administration to the disaster, saying it was “met with indifference and betrayal in some cases.”

Biden’s administration has provided a detailed description of how various federal agencies have been on the ground since the derailment, helping East Palestine and working to hold Norfolk Southern accountable.

Within hours of the derailment, the Environmental Protection Agency deployed a team of trained emergency response personnel to East Palestine to aid state and local emergency and environmental response efforts. The Department of Transportation also was there within hours to support the National Transportation Safety Board in their independent investigation of the derailment, according to the White House.

The Department of Health and Human Services has worked with state and local health departments to conduct public health testing and offer technical assistance.

Biden issued an executive order in September directing that Norfolk Southern continue to be held accountable for the derailment and address any long-term effects to the community and ensure federal assistance is available should needs develop not met by the railroad company.

In response to Biden’s East Palestine announcement, Ohio Republican Party Chairman Alex Triantafilou said: “This clumsy Biden administration has now decided to visit the good people of East Palestine only as a campaign stop to try and resuscitate his collapsed presidency. How foolishly transparent. When victims there needed Joe Biden, he was out to lunch. Too little, too late.”