Scots photographer fears worst if '˜dangerous' Trump is president

A Scottish photographer who has captured every US president since Eisenhower on camera says he is fearing the worst if Donald Trump enters the White House because he is so 'dangerous'.
Harry Bensons pictures are on show at the Scottish Parliament  in a Festival retrospective. Picture: Ian RutherfordHarry Bensons pictures are on show at the Scottish Parliament  in a Festival retrospective. Picture: Ian Rutherford
Harry Bensons pictures are on show at the Scottish Parliament in a Festival retrospective. Picture: Ian Rutherford

Harry Benson, who has known the tycoon for more than 40 years, said the whole world should be “worried” about the prospect of the Republican nominee succeeding Barack Obama.

The Glasgow-born photograper was visiting the Edinburgh Festival to unveil one of his biggest ever retrospectives at the Scottish Parliament.

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He described Mr Trump as “a piece of ****” at the launch of the show, which documents pivotal moments in American history over the past 50 years.

Benson – present during Bobby Kennedy’s assassination – accused Mr Trump of a “casual inciting of violence” and warned “words can have tremendous consequences”.

He suggested Mr Trump’s rhetoric could lead to politically-motivated shootings during the race for the White House,

The exhibition charts civil rights uprisings, the funeral of Dr Martin Luther King, Klu Klux Klan organisations, the Watergate scandal, anti-Vietnam demonstrations and John Lennon’s assassination.

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One of the highlights of the exhibition is an intimate portrait of Bill and Hillary Clinton captured in Arkansas, in 1992,after he announced his candidacy for the presidency.

Benson, who is hoping to photograph Vladimir Putin in future, revealed he had recently completed an assignment of ten pages of photographs of Trump for Time magazine.

He said: “It’s all very dangerous. I think we should all be worried about him. I’ve known the ******* for about 40 years. He’s not changed. He’s still the same piece of ****.

“I’ve never seen anything like it. I’ve never seen anything so crazy. There was a bit of decorum in the other elections but there is none in this. Trump saying ‘crooked Hillary’ has turned off a lot of the public. What he might have done is get other people shot, Clinton supporters or people with a Clinton badge.

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“Whenever you say something about him he always hears about it. He drops me a line and says: ‘Harry, thanks for all the kind words.’

“I’d like to do Putin. He’s good-looking, a smart guy and interesting. There’s not many interesting leaders these days. I’d like to get him riding a horse. You never know.”