Ivanka Trump declares she 'tries to stay out of politics' despite working in politics

Ivanka Trump, daughter and adviser of US President Donald Trump, has declared she tries to "stay out of politics" despite working in politics. Photo/AP

Ivanka Trump works in the White House as a special adviser to the president, her father, Donald.

She attends high-level briefings alongside the most senior people in the West Wing, privy to all manner of important conversations and discussions.

The fashion designer has travelled the globe on the president's behalf, speaking at diplomatic forums and meeting leaders from Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to German Chancellor Angela Merkel.

But Ms Trump, whose husband Jared Kushner is also a senior aide to the president, has made an odd declaration: she doesn't involve herself with politics.

In an interview with Fox and Friends that aired in the US overnight, the first daughter said she tries to "leave the politics to other people and really lean into the issues that I care deeply about".

The bizarre claim ricocheted around Washington DC and social media, with plenty lining up to take pot shots at Ms Trump.

"These are comments so confounding and contradictory, we may have officially reached peak Ivanka," Vogue declared.

While CNN was more succinct in its assessment, simply asking: "Um, what?"

Its editor at large Chris Cillizza went on to say that her claim was not only baffling, but simply impossible.

"That's like an assistant baseball coach saying that he 'tries to stay out of baseball.' Or the managing editor of a news organisation saying she 'tries to stay out of the journalism.'"

President Donald Trump smiles as he walks with his daughter Ivanka Trump across the South Lawn of the White House. Photo/AP

It's not the first time her comments have caused uproar or merciless mocking, with her Memorial Day recipe for 'champagne popsicles' seeing her dubbed out of touch.

In the interview, Ms Trump praised her father, saying "his political instincts are phenomenal."

She has focused her time in the West Wing on several policy issues, including paid family leave. Last week, Ms Trump visited politicians on Capitol Hill for talks on those issues.

Ivanka Trump and Jared Kushner at the Royal Court Palace in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Photo/AP

Advancing parental leave in the Republican-controlled Congress is considered highly unlikely, but winning some family-oriented tax changes are possible.

When her father won the presidency, Ms Trump stepped away from roles at the Trump Organisation and running her eponymous lifestyle brand to take the unpaid role in the administration.