--- description: Richard Painter, a Minnesota U.S. Senate candidate, used the image of a dumpster fire in his campaign ad to make a point about Trump. title: Senate Candidate Uses Actual Dumpster Fire in Campaign Ad image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76f23c2e5cbda7e0/69893352096a94934e6a2b3e/richard_painter_ad_screengrab.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [2018 Elections](/tag/2018-elections/) ## 2018 Elections Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # This Senate Candidate Used an Actual Dumpster Fire to Make a Point About the Trump Administration by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 19, 2018 1:03 PM CUT  Richard Painter Senate ad by [Jennifer Calfas](/author/jennifer-calfas/) ## Jennifer Calfas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jun 19, 2018 1:03 PM CUT Richard Painter, a former White House ethics lawyer [keen on impeaching President Donald Trump](http://time.com/5260549/richard-painter-impeachment-democrats/ "undefined"), used an actual dumpster fire to illustrate his campaign for Minnesota’s U.S. Senate. “Some people see a dumpster fire and do nothing but watch the spectacle,” Painter said in the ad as a trash fire appeared to burn behind him. “There is an inferno raging in Washington,” he continued. “But here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we know how to put out a fire.” And with that, a sheet of water poured down and extinguished the blaze. (The Land of 10,000 Lakes is one of Minnesota’s nicknames.) > [](https://twitter.com/RWPMinnesota/status/1008462633098465283) Painter, a former Republican who served as chief White House ethics lawyer for former President George W. Bush, is challenging Sen. Tina Smith in the state’s Democratic primary. Smith replaced former Sen. Al Franken, who [resigned last year](http://time.com/5054253/al-franken-resigns-transcript/ "undefined") amid allegations of sexual misconduct. Painter [recently told TIME](http://time.com/5260549/richard-painter-impeachment-democrats/ "undefined") his push for impeachment was a central component of his campaign, along with campaign finance reform. Invoking a dumpster fire in his first campaign ad reflects an image conjured by some Americans starting in 2016\. Indeed, the American Dialect Society [named “dumpster fire,”](http://time.com/4627056/dumpster-fire-2016-word-of-the-year/ "undefined") defined as “an exceedingly disastrous or chaotic situation,” as the 2016 word of the year. “As a metaphor for a situation that is out of control or poorly handled, dumpster fire came into prominence in 2016,” the organization said at the time, “very frequently in the context of the U.S. presidential campaign.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/5315790/richard-painter-minnesota-senate-ad-dumpster-fire/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/5315790/richard-painter-minnesota-senate-ad-dumpster-fire/"},"headline":"This Senate Candidate Used an Actual Dumpster Fire to Make a Point About the Trump Administration","datePublished":"2018-06-19T13:03:15.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T20:36:41.376Z","description":"\"Here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes, we know how to put out a fire\"","url":"https://time.com/5315790/richard-painter-minnesota-senate-ad-dumpster-fire/","keywords":["2018 Elections","Congress","onetime"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76f23c2e5cbda7e0/69893352096a94934e6a2b3e/richard_painter_ad_screengrab.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jennifer Calfas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jennifer-calfas/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt76f23c2e5cbda7e0/69893352096a94934e6a2b3e/richard_painter_ad_screengrab.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"richard_painter_ad_screengrab","caption":"","creditText":"Richard Painter Senate ad","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/2018-elections/","name":"2018 Elections"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/5315790/richard-painter-minnesota-senate-ad-dumpster-fire/","name":"This Senate Candidate Used an Actual Dumpster Fire to Make a Point About the Trump Administration"}}]}] ```