Takeaways from Trump's roller-coaster day in court: From the Politics Desk

Welcome to the online version of From the Politics Desk, an evening newsletter that brings you the NBC News Politics team’s latest reporting and analysis from the campaign trail, the White House and Capitol Hill.

In today’s edition, White House reporter Katherine Doyle reports from a New York courtroom on Donald Trump's whirlwind day on the legal front. Plus, chief foreign affairs correspondent Andrea Mitchell breaks down the fresh tensions between Joe Biden and Benjamin Netanyahu.

The key takeaways from Trump’s day in court

By Katherine Doyle

Monday was a bit of a roller coaster for Donald Trump on the legal front.

Trump’s defense team failed to persuade Judge Juan Merchan to add more time to the clock before the start of the trial in Trump’s New York hush money case, with the former president shaking his head in apparent frustration during the hearing as the judge set a date next month for the start of jury selection.

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But in another court on Monday, Trump earned a major reprieve for the bond he was supposed to deliver as part of the civil case he lost.

Here are the key takeaways from Trump’s day in court:

Trump’s delay efforts fall short: Trump had successfully moved back the start of the hush money case, which was originally set for Monday. But his efforts to delay the trial even further were thwarted, with Merchan scheduling it to begin on April 15.

Trump didn’t have to be in the courtroom Monday. When the historic trial begins in three weeks, though, he will be required to attend each day, which could hamper his campaign activity.

Trump didn’t hide his true feelings: Before entering the courtroom, he called the case “a witch hunt” and “a hoax.” He furrowed his brow. He