This picture of Bill Schuette in front of a burning building is a perfect metaphor for his campaign

By Devin Culham

Nov 3, 2018 at 5:01 pm

Audio By Carbonatix

[
          {
            "name": "GPT - Leaderboard - Inline - Content",
            "component": "35519556",
            "insertPoint": "5th",
            "startingPoint": "3",
            "requiredCountToDisplay": "3",
            "maxInsertions": 100,
            
            "adList": [
              {
                "adPreset": "LeaderboardInline"
              }
            ]
          }
          
        ]

This picture of Bill Schuette in front of a burning building is a perfect metaphor for his campaign (3)

Updated 5:01 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 3:

The photographer, Alex Haggart, asked us to remove the photo from this post, so we obliged. If you missed it, just look at the meme above and imagine Bill Schuette standing in front of a graffiti'd, burning Detroit house. It's basically the same.

Originally posted 4:12 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. 1:

Ahh, Bill. We know that we've been a little tough on you lately.

From the abandoned Detroit campaign office to running out of campaign finances, and then painfully being dragged in front of the nation on Last Week Tonight with John Oliver for seriously creepy
behavior, Republican candidate for governor and Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has had a tough couple of weeks.

So when we stumbled upon this picture of Schuette in front of a building with a tight, yet forced smile on his face, we couldn't help but recall one of our favorite memes.

However, Democratic State Representative Tom Cochran, the former Chief of the Lansing Fire Department, found the image to be much less entertaining.

During a Thursday morning appearance on Michigan's Big Show starring Michael Patrick Shiels, Cochran went on the record to criticize Schuette for taking a photo while the building was clearly engulfed in flames.

"Who's watching the fire? There's safety concerns," Cochran says. "As the Fire Chief of Lansing, I certainly wouldn't have allowed that."

In the photo, Schuette is seen shaking hands with Mike Nevin, president of the Detroit Fire Firefighters Association, along with several suited-up firefighters in the photo frame.

"It's one thing to stand there with a couple of union officials, but on-duty personnel in their turn-out gear, that's sophomoric, in my opinion, while the fire is going on."

LISTEN: Former Lansing fire chief @RepTomCochran slams @SchuetteOnDuty on @mibigshow for bizarre photo in front of burning building that is "insulting to police and firefighters." #MIGov pic.twitter.com/HoUED9aieH
— Sam Newton (@SamNewton) November 1, 2018

The photo originally appeared on Facebook and has since been deleted. The image appears to have been taken in late May when Schuette earned the endorsement of the Detroit Fire Fighter Association. When Schuette posted the endorsement on May 31, he appears with the union officials in the same outfit as the image of the fire.

In September, Schuette's running mate, Linda Posthumus Lyons' lost her family home in Alto, Michigan after a fire occurred following a crème brûlée incident.

Stay on top of Detroit news and views. Sign up for our weekly issue newsletter delivered each Wednesday.