Thread by @dsamuelsohn

NEW: Democrats couldn't help but note the split-screen contrast of Buttigieg at the WH podium on Monday touting the infrastructure bill while VP Harris headed to France. by @rbravender ($) @thisisinsider businessinsider.com/pete-buttigieg…

"I'm sure anybody who was a big Pete person in '20 looked at that as, 'Wow, he just did something huge, and he's going to be on TV everywhere and do this big victory lap,'" one Democratic strategist told Insider.

The infrastructure investments could come in handy if Buttigieg decides to make another run at the White House someday. "He can literally campaign in places and be like, 'See this highway? I built that,'" the Democratic strategist added.

A senior administration official told reporters on Tuesday that the vice president was "fully engaged" with negotiations on the infrastructure bill and would publicly make the case for it next week.

But Dems suspect that Harris team doesn't love the optics of her flying out of the US just as the victory lap is getting started. The D strategist: "There are probably Kamala people that are like, 'Hey, this is supposed to be our opportunity for this to be a win for us, too.'"

A former Democratic Senate aide said it was "fair to assume that not only are her staff bent out of shape over this, but they're also pissed because of the recent polling that shows her not doing too well."

Gil Duran, who worked for Harris when she was California's attorney general, said it was "a bit early for the horse race" between Harris and Buttigieg.

"It's early yet, and there will be ups and downs, and one news cycle in which a secretary gets to take a bow is hardly determinative of the future," said Duran, who's now the opinion editor of the San Francisco Examiner.

Buttigieg "is an interesting and dynamic character who's going to get attention in his own right," he said. "He will also have hard days ahead.

"Hopefully at this point they all view each other as being on the same team," he added.