Clearly Trump will be harder to beat this year than he was in 2020. The election was held in the middle of the Covid epidemic, and glaring errors hurt Trump’s chances for reelection.

When Trump, at a news conference with public health officials, started thinking out loud, he suggested “it would be interesting to check” whether bleach could kill the virus and restore health. This mistake added to confusing messages he had been sending about the virus and wearing face masks.

This mistake was good news for Joseph Biden, who was trying to oust Trump from the White House. Biden’s aides quickly realized that Trump had hurt his chances of being reelected: “this was stratospherically insane and dangerous.” In 2024, the evidence is growing that the Trump campaign is avoiding errors that work to Biden’s advantage.

The Republican campaign is showing signs of professionalism that have to make Biden’s team nervous. The thorny question of who will be Trump’s running mate was presented for public comment when Donald Trump invited Doug Burgum to ride on his campaign airplane. It wasn’t an announcement, but it clearly signaled that anyone objecting had better make their case now, before the announcement. This is standard operating procedure, and it is a sign that this year Trump will be avoiding the mistakes that helped Joe Biden’s campaign win in 2020.

Doug Burgum is a native son of North Dakota who has amassed a considerable fortune and is in his second term as governor. He is the epitome of the self-made man and has a career that probably appeals to Trump. While still in college, he became a chimney sweep, a lowly beginning that is played up in his biographies. He started a software company that did business in Midwest states like North Dakota. It was a success, and Microsoft purchased the company. Governor Burgum has a knack for impressing people. Microsoft placed him in charge of Microsoft Business Solutions, selling Microsoft products to other businesses.

After leaving the software giant, Burgum went off on his own and started a technology venture capital company and a real-estate development firm. The Republican establishment backed the State Attorney General in North Dakota for Governor, but Burgum had the money and the personality to easily win the Republican primary.

In other words, Burgum has a career that may appeal to Donald Trump. In another sign that Trump is running a professional campaign this year, Burgum addressed a massive Trump rally on the Jersey Shore. 100,000 people showed up at the Wildwood rally. Beyond this show of enthusiasm, the rally took place in the Philadelphia media market. Trump found a way to mobilize his supporters and make a big impression in Pennsylvania, one of the battleground states for this year’s election.

This adds up to a campaign triumph, and it makes Biden’s job more difficult. Four years ago, Trump’s mistakes helped Biden win the election. That seems less likely this year.