Ivanka Trump caught off guard by 'level of viciousness' in DC politics

— -- First daughter Ivanka Trump said “there’s a level of viciousness” she wasn’t expecting since moving to Washington and taking an official role in her father’s administration in March.

Trump was asked this morning whether it’s difficult to focus on what she hopes to accomplish because of issues dominating the news, such as the Russia investigation.

“It is hard and there is a level of viciousness that I was not expecting. I was not expecting the intensity of this experience,” Trump said on Fox News in an interview this morning.

“But this isn't supposed to be easy,” she added.

“I think some of the distractions and some of the ferocity I was a little blindsided by on a personal level,” Trump said. “But for me, I'm trying to keep my head down, not listen to the noise and just work really hard to make a positive impact in the lives of many people.”

Trump, 35, was also asked what her father thought after watching former FBI Director James Comey testify in front of the Senate Intelligence Committee last week.

“My father felt very vindicated in all the statements that he has been making and feels incredibly optimistic,” Trump said today.

While the hearings have dominated the media landscape, she said, “we are really focused on why the American people elected Donald Trump as their president” and implementing his policy plans.

Asked whether any of the infighting in the White House between White House senior adviser Jared Kushner and other staffers is true, Trump said her husband “doesn’t get involved.”

“There is 24-hour news cycle that gets fed by and is encouraged by lots of salacious details,” Trump said. “At the end of the day, we are all focused on the work. And that's very true for Jared. You know, he is somebody who just likes to get things done. So he doesn't get involved in sort of all of that."