US Ambassador Scott Brown twells the Boston Globe this is the best job he's ever had.

US Ambassador Scott Brown says his gig in New Zealand is the best job he's ever had.

The former US senator from Massachusetts has spoken to the Boston Globe about what it's like to represent his country, and stick up for US President Donald Trump, in a far-off land.

"Of the waves that followed from Donald Trump's 2016 tsunami, Brown's ascension from the everyman-with-a-pickup who lost two US Senate races in two years in two states to US ambassador to New Zealand ranks among the most unlikely. And, for him, the most fortunate," the Boston Globe article says.

CAMERON BURNELL/STUFF Brown's wife Gail Huff helps him with the handshaking, ribbon cutting, guest hosting and other =official duties.

Political reporter Joshua Miller visited New Zealand to find out more about Brown and his job down under.

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What he found was the outdoor-loving ambassador was right at home among what was described as "a paradisiacal land of jade hills dotted with grazing sheep, golden-sand beaches surrounded by Jurassic Park-like jungles, snow-capped peaks that rise steeply from azure fjords, and pastoral villages serving gourmet meals and world-class wine".

CAMERON BURNELL/FAIRFAX NZ It's not always easy defending Donald Trump in a country that isn't a big fan, Brown says.

Brown spent his days campaigning across this terrain — shaking hands, cutting ribbons, speaking to farmers, students and by night, hosting guests at the ambassador's residence north of Wellington.

The pay is US$155,000 per year (NZ$220,000). The benefits are priceless, according to the Boston Globe.

"While other Trump appointees are lawyering up in fear of special counsel Robert Mueller or fretting about being undermined by an early-morning presidential tweet, Brown is happy, fit, and free — 8800 miles from Washington DC."

MONIQUE FORD/STUFF US Ambassador Scott Brown and his wife Gail Huff-Brown defended accusations Brown acted inappropriately during an official visit to Samoa in July.

'A GOOD WAKE-UP CALL'

The article acknowledges Brown's recent "bumps", including an investigation into his behaviour during a visit to Samoa in July, which ended in him being advised to be more culturally sensitive.

​Brown refused to talk further about the incident, as he said he had already disclosed the full story to Stuff, but he did say: "Bottom line is it was a good wake-up call that I can't be Scott Brown from Rye anymore, or Wrentham. I have to be more aware."

Brown said he did not want to have any regrets of his time in New Zealand.

"If, God forbid, something happens on the way home, I want to be able to say, 'You know what, I did everything in the world.' I don't want any regrets. And I'm going to make mistakes. I've said this long before this job. And I've always tried to learn from those mistakes and be a better person, you know? And not be a jerk," he said.

"But to be the top emissary of the world's superpower to an allied, democratic, prosperous, English-speaking nation full of good-humoured people and great biking trails — that's hard to beat.

Or, as Brown puts it: "Best job I ever had".

TENSIONS OF TRUMP

Brown took "a long and winding road" to New Zealand.

He started out as a small-town lawyer, before becoming a Republican senator.

He became particularly impressed by Trump, whom he endorsed. He later told reporters he thought he was the "best person" to be Trump's secretary of veterans' affairs, following a meeting with the president-elect.

But he didn't get that gig. Instead, in June, he was confirmed by the Senate as US ambassador to New Zealand and the Independent State of Samoa. The vote was 94 to 4.

He told the Boston Globe, in one of several interviews, he liked Trump, and most of his policies but most Kiwis did not, which could cause some tension.

"Some people just really don't like him and I go into a hostile room and there's no — I'm just hanging on for dear life," he said.

"Other people, they're kind of like, 'Well, tell us about your guy. Why do you like him? What is he doing right? What is he doing wrong? Where do you think he can improve?' "

Six times out of ten, he said, the encounters ended with people saying, "I appreciate the explanation. I don't necessarily like him but I like you, like Gail, like your dog. Let's go for a run. Let's go for a mountain bike ride. And we find that common ground".

PORTRAYING THE US IN A POSITIVE LIGHT

Brown said he did not believe his work in New Zealand was less important than his time as a politician stateside. Or that his posting amounted to a kind of political exile.

"Some people think, 'Oh well, the president got rid of Scott.' It's like so completely opposite of that," he said.

After a ribbon-cutting ceremony for a Paper Plus store in Marton, in Rangitīkei, the Boston Globe asked Brown if that type of activity felt like 'small ball'.

"You mean 'small ball' being the president's representative in a country 10,000 miles away? Absolutely not. And I think, quite honestly, this is a much bigger job than being a senator. I think there's more at stake," Brown replied.

"You're dealing in things that are happening like right now on a world scale," he continued. "You're talking about what's happening with North Korea, what's happening with China, what's happening with ISIS."

He also emphasises the importance of New Zealand as one of the Five Eyes intelligence and surveillance network, along with the US, Canada, the UK and Australia.

"Cutting a ribbon — for those people, it was the biggest thing," he said. "This is my job. My job is to portray our country in a positive light."

Brown, who is a keen guitarist, also spoke about finding common ground through music.

The ambassador never misses a chance to tell people about how he's played the guitar for US rock band Cheap Trick.

He even has a music studio set up at the ambassador's residence.

"It's the great equaliser," Brown said. "People kind of relax and let their guard down and then you can start to talk about: So tell me about your president."