In his quest to return to the White House, Donald Trump is working as hard as he can to lose the upcoming election. And unlike other strategies in a campaign riddled with awkward missteps, he might actually succeed at this one.

Before we anoint Kamala Harris as leader of the free world — an unsettling prospect — remember, there are eight weeks until Election Day. The initial momentum Harris has enjoyed could level off or even swing in the other direction.

In a race between two flawed candidates, the winner will be the one who makes the fewest mistakes. Advantage: Harris.

But why?

On major issues ranging from the economy and energy to public safety, immigration and foreign diplomacy, Trump should have an advantage. Polls show voters favor him over Harris, who is inexorably linked to Joe Biden's vulnerability on those issues. She must walk a tightrope between distancing herself from the unpopular Biden and not abandoning the guy who made her vice president.

However, seemingly intent on snatching defeat from the jaws of victory, Trump ignores the fact that Republicans are in the minority among American voters, trailing both Democrats and unaffiliated voters.

It would be logical, then, for a Republican candidate to not only unify the party but campaign to attract unaffiliated voters. To date, there has been precious little of that kind of logic on display in the Trump campaign.

Consider:

— After being the last candidate standing against Trump for the GOP nomination this year, Nikki Haley ended her campaign after Trump won a convincing primary victory in South Carolina, where Haley served six years as governor. During the campaign, Trump called Haley "bird brain" and "nimrod" and made fun of her Asian-Indian heritage, Nevertheless, after withdrawing from the race, she endorsed Trump and urged her supporters to back him.

Trump showed his appreciation by reminding a subsequent South Carolina rally how he "humiliated" Haley, "beat her very badly" in that state's primary. Yes, Trump defeated her there by 20 percent, but other than stroking his ego, what's the point of rubbing her nose in it? It's no surprise then that a political action committee — Haley Voters for Harris —has raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for the Harris campaign.

— When Trump campaigned in Georgia last month, he continued to disparage that state's popular Republican governor, Brian Kemp, claiming "he's a bad guy, a disloyal guy and a very average governor." For good measure, he called the 5-foot-7 governor "little Brian Kemp." Brilliant.

Kemp had the courage and integrity four years ago not to go along with Trump's alleged attempt to overturn his narrow loss there in the 2020 presidential election. This year, Georgia is again a swing state where Kemp enjoys a 63% approval rating and a potent grassroots organization that could help Trump get out the GOP vote. Like Haley, Kemp proved himself the bigger person by ignoring Trump's insults and endorsing the GOP nominee. However, in a state that Trump lost four years ago by only 12,000 votes, Kemp's tens of thousands of supporters might not be so forgiving.

— At most of his rallies, Trump continues to claim that the 2020 election was stolen. There were some irregularities, but not one of Trump's appeals was upheld. He needs to get over 2020 and focus instead on the 2024 issues that actually matter to voters.

— If Trump is to win in 2024, he'll need to improve his standing among female voters, a demographic in which Harris enjoys a comfortable lead. Harris may have been helped in her earlier political career by her dating relationship with former San Francisco Mayor and California State Assembly Speaker Willie Brown. However, Trump's crude online posts about it aren't going to win over many undecided women.

— On the final night of a national convention, the ticket is formally introduced. That's when leading party luminaries whip up enthusiasm among delegates and the national television audience.

Instead of GOP celebrities like former President George W. Bush, former Vice President Dick Cheney, Trump's vice president Mike Pence or 2012 presidential nominee Mitt Romney, Trump went in another direction. Wrestler Hulk Hogan and musician Kid Rock were Thursday night headliners before Trump had Dana White, CEO of the Ultimate Fighting Championship, introduce him. All that testosterone won't win over many women. As for Bush, Cheney, Pence and Romney, they top a long list of alienated Republicans who have said they won't vote for Trump.

— African Americans are another group with which Trump needs to improve, especially after he questioned Barack Obama's birthright eligibility to run for president. Nevertheless, Trump thought it would be a good idea this summer to question Harris's race.

"I didn't know she was Black until a number of years ago when she happened to turn Black, and now she wants to be known as Black," Trump said. Bad enough that he made the remark but made it in a live interview in front of the National Association of Black Journalists.

As a former president who kept inflation low, virtually closed America's borders, made the nation energy-independent, eradicated ISIS, took out an Iranian terrorist mastermind, supported law enforcement and restored conservative patriotism like no one since Ronald Reagan, Trump should be ahead in the polls.

Harris is so liberal, even she knows she must abandon some of her previous extreme positions such as decriminalizing illegal border crossings, eliminating private health insurance, banning fracking and "reimagining" law enforcement.

Yet, in most polls, she either leads slightly or is running neck-and-neck against Trump, who has wasted no opportunity to shoot himself in the foot.

Comedian Ron White said it best: "You can't fix stupid. There's not a pill you can take or a class you can go to."

Even if there was, though, Trump probably wouldn't do it. He'll keep doing things his way, then cry foul after it costs him this election.

Bill Stanley, a former reporter at The Day, is a retired vice president of Lawrence + Memorial Hospital.