I do remember something about Ivanka being asked about Pence, but IIRC I think it was Melania who liked him enough to move it forward.
As much as I think President Trump is a pretty good judge of people, like all of us, he’s not perfect. Don’t forget, people are going to be on their best behavior around him, and there likely wasn’t anything to see in Pence at the time. Also, Pence could have been swayed somewhere along the line to go to the swamp side of things. Personally, I feel he was always there.
I remember my thinking at the time was that he wanted to pick of VP who would shore up the Evangelical vote for him. Pence did help with that. That’s the only thing I can think that Trump could benefit or gain from - plus he needed someone with some inside ropes, and Pence had that. He also probably assumed he’d be trustworthy, and he was, except for the firing of Michael Flynn (very telling) and the fateful J6 debacle. I don’t think he suspected Pence would be a Judas.
I never cared much for Ivanka. I would be suspect of anyone who could get close to a Clinton. Time will tell!