What’s next for Ed McMullen, Trump’s ex-ambassador and kingmaker consultant inside SC

South Carolinian Ed McMullen, a notable political consultant who ushered former President Donald Trump into the White House before representing the United States in Switzerland and Lichtenstein, said Monday he’s focused on business and less on politics.

Well, sort of.

He is just not interested in running for elected office, not even statewide, no matter how many times someone suggests he should.

“Everyone says, ‘Oh, you need to run for governor, or you need to run’ ... uh, that’s not what I’ve ever, really, ever had a real interest in,” McMullen told two reporters Monday afternoon after he spoke to the Columbia Rotary Club about his time serving in the Trump administration, highlighting various accomplishments and scenic visuals of Switzerland.

“Never, ever, ever, ever. You can shoot me if you ever see me on a podium, giving a speech running for something,” said McMullen, who served in 2016 as then-candidate Donald Trump’s state chairman for his successful S.C. GOP presidential primary campaign and helped plan the Republican National Convention.

After Trump won in 2016, McMullen stayed on as a member of Trump’s transition team and a vice chair of the inaugural committee.

Now back home in South Carolina with a base in Charleston, McMullen said Monday he is focused on work with Bartons Family Capital, a private equity firm in London. And he has since opened a division of law firm Adams and Reese LLP to do economic development and foreign direct investment out of Charleston, an “international beach head for the firm all over the country,” he said.

McMullen also sits on a handful of Swiss boards and, right before Trump left office, was tapped to serve on the board of trustees for the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts.

“That’s what I’m enjoying,” McMullen said. “Politics, to me, has gotten so bitter and negative, and I just don’t have any interest.”

But McMullen, who said he first met Trump when McMullen was 23 years old, said he loves diplomacy and could probably be convinced to serve again, whether it is an ambassadorship or working with the U.S. Department of State.

“We need people who are willing to serve, and not be partisan (and) serve for the right reasons,” said McMullen, who added that most ambassadors had strong relationships with their country and defended former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Richard Grenell, whose relationship waned with the Germans up until the end of his service. “People can say that’s not the most diplomatic approach but it was an approach that was necessary at the time.”

McMullen also declined to say whether he thought Trump should run again in 2024, but mentioned his popularity in the state and among Republicans. A veteran Republican consultant, McMullen said he has had many meetings with people interested in the job.

“But I’ve made it very clear that, you know, if the president decides to run, I am a loyal person. I would support the president,” he said.