By now, it’s well-established how Anthony Scaramucci’s extraordinarily brief and expletive-laden stint as White House communications director ended.
But how did the man known as “The Mooch” first come to meet President Trump? The answer is apparently residing in New Zealand.
Former Massachusetts senator Scott Brown, who is now the US ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa, said in late July he introduced Scaramucci to President Trump, referring to the former as a “dear friend.”
“I’m actually the guy who introduced him to the president,” Brown told journalist Dan Rea on WBZ Radio on July 21, the same day Scaramucci was offered the White House gig.
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In an e-mail, Brown’s office declined to comment for this story on Tuesday night.
In that interview, Brown described Scaramucci as “kind of an outsider,” and a man of great organizational skill who understands business and people.
He recalled the introductory meeting between Trump and Scaramucci during last year’s presidential campaign. Brown said Trump ribbed Scaramucci about supporting other political candidates in the past before asking him “Why should I trust you?”
Scaramucci, said Brown, responded by saying he would do his best to help Trump win the presidency and that “his word was gold.”
“I know him, I trust him, I think he’s going to right that ship,” Brown said of Scaramucci.
Both Scaramucci and Brown are alumni of Tufts University. Brown said he served as an adviser on the board of SkyBridge Capital, a global investment firm founded by Scaramucci.
In May 2016, Scaramucci tweeted a photo of himself with Brown with a link to a Medium post titled “How Former U.S. Senator (and Early Trump Endorser) Scott Brown Succeeded Against All Odds.”
How Former U.S. Senator (and Early Trump Endorser) Scott Brown Succeeded Against All Odds https://t.co/7QG0Tm6I1c @SenScottBrown
— Anthony Scaramucci (@Scaramucci) May 26, 2016
In an observation that now looks prescient, Brown noted of Scaramucci during the WBZ interview, “He’s not a press person.”
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Scaramucci would last 10 days as White House communications director. His brief tenure was tumultous and will likely be best remembered for a profanity-studded tirade wherein he referred to then-White House chief of staff Reince Priebus as “a [expletive] paranoid schizophrenic,” and suggested that White House chief strategist Steve Bannon partakes in a certain type of self-gratification that cannot be printed on this site.
Last Friday, Priebus was pushed out as chief of staff, replaced by John F. Kelly , a retired four-star Marine general from Brighton. Kelly didn’t wait to shake things up. On Monday, he fired Scaramucci.
Brown also asserted that he introduced Scaramucci to Trump in an interview with Radio New Zealand on July 22. During that interview, Brown described Scaramucci as direct, honest, and hardworking.
“I think he’ll do a great job,” he said.
Danny McDonald can be reached at daniel.mcdonald@globe.com