Clint Eastwood’s speech at GOP convention
Clint Eastwood’s bizarre chat to an empty chair at the Republican National Convention has sparked a new internet craze, dubbed “Eastwooding”.
“The Dirty Harry” actor made a surprise appearance at the climax of the convention on Thursday to endorse presidential candidate Mitt Romney.
But he made the internet’s day with a speech in which he hectored an empty chair representing an invisible president Barack Obama.
The speech (which ran more than twice as long as intended and had some Republicans looking at each other in bewilderment) became an online craze.
Clint Eastwood.
Clint Eastwood brought some star power to the Republican National Convention Thursday night.
The 82-year-old actor told the audience that not everyone in Hollywood is liberal.
“I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking what’s a movie tradesman doing out here? You know they’re all left wingers out there. Left of Lenin. At least that’s what people think but that’s not really the case” – Eastwood said. “There’s a lot of conservative people. Lot of moderate people. Republicans, Democrats in Hollywood. It’s just the conservative people by the nature of the word itself play it a little more close to the vest and they don’t go around hot dogging it.”
Eastwood ended his speech with the famous “Dirty Harry” line.
He said “Go ahead” – and the crowd answered “Make my day.”
Eastwood spoke before Mitt Romney officially accepted the GOP’s presidential nomination.
Clint Eastwood did more than make headlines with his bizarre speech at the Republican National Convention – he managed to make Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker cringe.
Walker called the speech “that one moment, which I cringed about” on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” Friday. The GOP governor said he would have rather seen more of Romney’s personal story than the 82-year-old actor mumbling and talking to an empty chair representing President Barack Obama.
“You hear some of his [Romney's] opponents how he’s a robot, he’s mechanical. No, he’s just a private person who does amazing things and we saw some of that last night” – Walker said. “I just wish, frankly, I would have rather seen that than Clint Eastwood during the prime time.”
Eastwood was immediately mocked for his bizarre appearance, sparking several internet memes and leading film critic Roger Ebert to tweet the speech was “unworthy of him.”