(NewsNation) — As crews work to restore East Palestine, Ohio, after the Norfolk Southern train derailment, President Joe Biden has drawn increasing criticism from residents and lawmakers alike.

The Hill correspondent Niall Stanage joined “NewsNation Prime” to discuss the worsening optics surrounding Biden’s response, calling his absence from East Palestine “mystifying.”

“It is certainly commonplace to say you want to give first responders time to do their thing,” said Stanage. “But that rationale becomes less salient as time goes on. And I think there are now real questions as to why there hasn’t been a visit just to demonstrate some sort of attention to the problem.”