The first step is admitting you've got a problem.... (Photo by Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post)

Donald Trump knows he has a delegate problem. He now knows how critical it is. He even, thanks to the arrival of convention manager Paul Manafort, knows the broad strokes of what he needs to do to address it. The question is whether all of this knowledge has come in time to make a difference.

"Trump ran a very effective insurgent campaign for months and months," notes Chris Cillizza. "But what happened sometime over the past six weeks or so is that Trump became the dog that caught the car. The insurgency worked. Trump got to the front of the pack. But, while insurgencies are good at being, well, insurgent, they are less good at building a governing coalition. ...Unfortunately for Trump, his seeming unconcern with specifics and disdain for rules fits far less well in this trench warfare stage of the race.

"...The question now is whether Trump realized too late that he was running in a race for which he was poorly equipped to succeed. As Frontloading HQ’s Josh Putnam notes, about 68 percent of all Republican delegates have been allocated but just 28 percent actually have been selected. A bit of math tells you that 72 percent of the delegates to the Republican National Convention have not yet been selected, meaning — at least in theory — that Manafort/Trump still have plenty of time to fix their delegate problem.

"But that assumes that Manafort can snap his fingers and build even the skeleton of organizations in the states yet to select their delegates. Which, of course, he can’t. And the truth is that there is very little Trump organization even in many of the states he won. Trump prevailed because he was the momentum and energy candidate. Organization, as lots and lots of losing candidates can tell you, can’t overcome organic energy and passion. That was the key to Trump’s success.

"It also might be the central element of his undoing. He didn’t need real organizations to win. So he didn’t build them. And now that he needs them, he doesn’t have them."

If you've paid attention to Donald Trump's Twitter feed today, you probably have the sense that this weekend didn't break his way. In Colorado, in Indiana, in Iowa, his supporters were solidly outmaneuvered by the Cruz team. In Virginia, he failed to pick up all the delegates available to him under the race's results.

Even South Carolina -- whose delegates are all bound to Trump in the first round of convention voting -- was still a disappointment of sorts: many of the delegates selected this weekend say they won't be backing Trump in later rounds, if voting continues past the first. Others say they're uncommitted.

And looking ahead to Pennsylvania, a state where he's held a healthy lead over Cruz in most recent polls, the delegates who've already stated their decision (as opposed to remaining uncommitted or pledging to back whoever wins their district) appear to be just about evenly divided between Trump and Cruz.

The people of Colorado had their vote taken away from them by the phony politicians. Biggest story in politics. This will not be allowed! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) April 11, 2016

But it wasn't all bleak for the mogul. Sen. Jeff Sessions, who backs Trump, was picked to chair the delegation. In Nevada, most delegates selected were Trump supporters. And in Michigan, there are signs Trump and John Kasich backers may have joined forces to block Ted Cruz from delegate gains.

And for all of Trump's complaints, he's actually benefited more from the GOP's delegate rules than his closest rival, giving him a greater percentage of delegates than he'd be entitled to if votes were distributed based on popular vote results alone.

Those rules may give him another boost next week. Over the past few weeks, polls have pegged Trump at 50 percent support or greater in his home state; if he holds on to a slim majority, he will get a bonus by claiming all available statewide delegates -- even if the rest of the field were to claim 49 percent, their share would drop to zero. (We aren't saying that Ted Cruz is cutting his losses in New York. We are noting that the Texas senator has no public events tomorrow, then spends the day before his CNN New York town hall in...Pennsylvania.)

Delegate scoreboard since Rubio got out:



Cruz 120

Trump 65

Uncommitted 29

Kasich 0 — Dan McLaughlin (@baseballcrank) April 11, 2016

If you have to pick just one state for a strong showing, New York (and its 95 delegates) would be a pretty solid one. As Dave Weigel points out, there are more people living in New York's 15th congressional district -- the Bronx -- than in the entire state of North Dakota. With that sort of volume, even the most heavily Democratic areas are still a GOP delegate prize; New York City and Long Island, home to about a third of the state's Republican voters, will deliver more than half of its convention delegates.

(Even in a contest Trump dominates, there are still reminders of his campaign's logistical challenges; his children Eric and Ivanka -- who narrated this explainer video about New York voting -- failed to register in time to vote for their father.)

THEW VIEW FROM THE FIELD: There was some debate over the significance of Trump's break from the spotlight late last week -- or whether it was even worth noting. Notable or not, Trump did take a few days off the trail, and made no Sunday show appearances (or call-ins) for the first time in weeks. Whatever that pause was, it ended today -- he has a string of events over the next few days, including two network town halls.

when you work in cable news and realize trump is doing interviews again pic.twitter.com/jx0V9wFGWL — Matt Negrin (@MattNegrin) April 11, 2016

(It definitely ended.)

Trump closed his Albany speech with a top ten "winning" rant: pic.twitter.com/WzL4cB0bZ9 — Sopan Deb (@SopanDeb) April 12, 2016

ALBANY --



Here's what happens when Donald Trump comes to upstate NY in a stadium: pic.twitter.com/MZFWSKAuQL — Kevin Cirilli (@kevcirilli) April 11, 2016

Trump tells the crowd to do the Trump pledge, but...“Just raise it a little bit! Don’t go too high!” — Jose A. DelReal (@jdelreal) April 11, 2016

BERNIE SANDERS LOOKS TO TAKE A BITE OUT OF CLINTON'S EMPIRE STATE EDGE...BUT:

ALBANY - @BernieSanders supporters said they stood in line 3 hours for his event this afternoon. pic.twitter.com/jNC9SAALlV — Peter Nicholas (@PeterWSJ) April 11, 2016

Donald Trump isn't the only candidate to get a bit burned by New York's byzantine registration deadlines (party switchers had to get their new registrations in by last October in order to vote in April's primary.)

In other words: not only does Bernie Sanders face the hurdle of a closed primary in a race where Clinton has generally performed as well or better among registered Democrats -- any independents who might have been tempted to switch their registrations amid his strong spring showing would have been out of luck. So far, recent New York polling has been remarkably consistent, giving Clinton a low double-digit edge.

Still, Clinton was on the offensive as the week began, focusing on general election strength ("I have noticed that under the bright spotlight and scrutiny here in New York, Sen. Sanders has had trouble answering questions," she said in Queens today); on transparency, where she's found herself on the defensive this year ("I've released 30 years of tax returns," she told the Daily News editorial board. "I don't hear that coming from my opponent Sen. Sanders or from Donald Trump"; and on immigration ("I started co-sponsoring the Dream Act back in 2002 or '03," she told reporters today. "...Sen. Sanders, by contrast, was supporting vigilantes." And then there was guns.

Gun policy isn't a new line of attack, of course -- but Clinton event today newly spotlighted the Vermont senator's vote to give immunity to gun manufacturers and sellers.

"When challenged on his gun stances, he frequently says: ‘Well, I represent Vermont. It’s a small, rural state,'" Clinton said of Sanders.

"Here’s what I want you to know: Most of the guns that are used in crimes and violence and killings in New York come from out of state. The state that has the highest per-capita number of those guns that end up committing crime in New York come from Vermont,” Clinton said, eliciting gasps from the audience of a couple hundred, report Philip Rucker and Abby Phillip. “So this is not, ‘Oh, no, I live in a rural state. We don’t have any of these problems.'"

(The stat...well, drew fire from Sanders supporters, since far more guns recovered in New York originate from other states; still, Vermont’s relatively small population helps it top the per-capita list. Then again, the stat was politically tricky on more than one front: Vermont's governor is Peter Shumlin, who has endorsed Clinton.)

That Clinton event included an appearance by Sandy Phillips, whose daughter was killed in the high-profile shooting in a movie thearter in Aurora, Colo.

Aurora victim’s mom says at Clinton event: "We made a call to Bernie Sanders. It did not go well, which is why I’m here today." — Philip Rucker (@PhilipRucker) April 11, 2016

Bernie Sanders started his week focused on fracking -- an issue that is essentially "Clinton’s challenge in miniature," reports Dave Weigel.

Today in Binghamton, N.Y., "Sanders repeatedly promised to ban fracking and compared the anti-fracking movement to other great bottom-up causes.

"...The comparison to Clinton was obvious. Sanders reminded the crowd that he had always opposed the Keystone XL pipeline -- 'a no-brainer' -- while Clinton dragged her decision over more than a year.

"'It took Secretary Clinton a while, but she did finally evolve on that issue,' said Sanders. 'Evolving is not good enough: We need leadership.' ...He reminded the crowd that he favored a national ban on fracking, and that Clinton did not."

His campaign took the message to voters beyond the Binghamton event with a new fracking spot:

They also debuted a new ad featuring director Spike Lee, ahead of a week that ends with a celebrity-studded concert series aimed squarely at Sanders's New York base (Vampire Weekend in Washington Square Park. Grizzly Bear in Prospect Park. TV on the Radio in Long Island City. If you are the sort of person who lives in any of those neighborhoods and owns albums by all those bands: statistically, you're more likely than not a Sanders supporter, according to recent surveys.)

Today, Sanders was in what has been Clinton country, wooing upstate voters (and drawing overflow crowds.)

To a large crowd in Albany, @BernieSanders explains that fracking poses "a profound danger to our climate." pic.twitter.com/i4w756wtuk — Danny Freeman (@DannyEFreeman) April 11, 2016

A jammed packed arena awaits @BernieSanders at SUNY Buffalo. pic.twitter.com/hZAkRaQ59W — Danny Freeman (@DannyEFreeman) April 11, 2016

Shocked this is the first time I can remember recently seeing people playing hacky sack at a @BernieSanders rally. pic.twitter.com/ThMCENgigE — Danny Freeman (@DannyEFreeman) April 11, 2016

TRAIL MENU UPDATE: Sanders made it down to Coney Island.

.@BernieSanders eating a hotdog at Nathan's w/ his wife and Michael Stipe of REM. Apparently Bernie is a fast eater. pic.twitter.com/Mih8NKiMKN — Yamiche Alcindor (@Yamiche) April 10, 2016

TRAIL MENU UPDATE #2: At the other end of the borough yesterday, Clinton eyed (but reportedly did not partake of) Junior's cheesecakes.

hillary has never been more relatable than she is in this pic pic.twitter.com/ZyZBdAGMI5 — Jessica Roy (@JessicaKRoy) April 11, 2016

She had one eye on the cheesecake...another on the general election.

HRC says Trump's comments are used to recruit terrorists: They are "being used to recruit terrorists. It is on their websites, their blogs." — Dan Merica (@danmericaCNN) April 12, 2016

John Kasich was upstate today ("New York is awesome," he told one crowd.)

Troy, NY-Kasich says he'll attract the blue collar Dems Mitt Romney couldn't get bc "they didn't think he got them" pic.twitter.com/xgIjmHHPOu — Cassie Spodak (@CassieSpodak) April 11, 2016

And Ted Cruz was out West, vying for the calendar's biggest prize. (Trump currently holds a narrow advantage in the state -- a result that might be just fine with Cruz, depending how far the mogul is from 1,237 in June.) "Just like 1980, it's going to be California that's going to decide, California that's going to lead the way," Cruz told one crowd today.

Campaign trail comes to California pic.twitter.com/PMEXB1xTAC — Katie Zezima (@katiezez) April 11, 2016

Standing room only at Cruz rally in Irvine. Easily thousands of ppl here. #caprimary pic.twitter.com/l9xnZNEZQ4 — Seema Mehta (@LATSeema) April 11, 2016

Orange County feeling the vibes. Is this just CA GOP or is this feeling among people this campaign is at new point? pic.twitter.com/yqb9uqcX1s — Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) April 11, 2016

TRAIL MIX: A thorough analysis of records by the Post's David Fahrenthold and Rosalind Helderman revealed that Trump’s list of charitable contributions doesn't seem to include any of his personal cash:

"Since the first day of his presidential campaign, Donald Trump has said that he gave more than $102 million to charity in the past five years.

"To back up that claim, Trump’s campaign compiled a list of his contributions — 4,844 of them, filling 93 pages.

"But, in that massive list, one thing was missing.

"Not a single one of those donations was actually a personal gift of Trump’s own money.

"Instead, according to a Washington Post analysis, many of the gifts that Trump cited to prove his generosity were free rounds of golf, given away by his courses for charity auctions and raffles." It's quite the list.

--Ben Carson, Trump surrogate, continued his streak of appearances that make news for reasons the campaign probably didn't plan on: He'd probably be #NeverTrump, he said, if the stakes weren't so high. (Another highlight: asked if Trump was a bad man, he replied “who isn’t? Who among us isn’t?”)

--In which Hillary Clinton is reminded of the rule: #NeverJoke. Especially when race is involved. (Sure, it could land well. But it probably won't.)

--Did Laura Bush hint that she'd think about backing Hillary Clinton, or didn't she? The debate continues. (“I want our next president — whoever he or she might be — to be somebody who is interested in women in Afghanistan and who will continue U.S. policies..." she said this weekend. "I understand that Americans are angry and frustrated but we do not need someone in the Oval Office who mirrors and inflames our anger and frustration.”)

--Meet Donald Trump's Beltway fixer Don McGahn, "one of the top election lawyers in the country, a job so highly specialized that its practitioners are almost unavoidably 'Washington insiders' by definition," notes Ben Terris.

--Joe Biden is saying things. About 2016: "I would like to see a woman elected," he tells Mic News, as his staff seems to try to end the interview (Biden also said he still wouldn't be backing anyone during the primary season.)

YOUR DAILY TRAIL PIT STOP: It's National Pets Day. While (despite what Twitter says) that is not really a thing, this is: DogsforDonald.com.