SUN VALLEY, Idaho — Clint Eastwood just made Mitt Romney’s day.
The “Dirty Harry” star and Oscar-winning director of “Unforgiven” and “Million Dollar Baby” endorsed the Republican presidential candidate Friday night during a Sun Valley fundraiser.
“I think the country needs a boost,” Eastwood told The Associated Press as he joined other Romney supporters for the private campaign event.
In February, Eastwood told Fox News that he wasn’t supporting any politician at that time. Some saw the “halftime in America” ad he made for the Super Bowl as a nod toward President Barack Obama. Eastwood responded then by saying he was not “politically affiliated” with the president.
“Now more than ever do we need Gov. Romney. I’m going to be voting for him,” Eastwood told Romney supporters Friday night.
“He just made my day,” Romney said. “What a guy.”
Standing at Romney’s side, Eastwood said he was filming “Mystic River” in Massachusetts almost a decade ago when he first saw political advertisements featuring Romney, who was running for governor at the time.
“I said, God, this guy, he’s too handsome to be governor, but he does look like he could be president,” Eastwood joked. “As the years have gone by I began to think even more so about that.”
Eastwood, 82, said he hoped Romney would restore “a decent tax system that we need badly … so that there’s a fairness and people are not pitted against one another as who’s paying taxes and who isn’t.”
The actor and director instantly became Romney highest-profile celebrity supporter. Romney has also earned the endorsement of Oscar-winning actor Jon Voight and rock star Kid Rock.
A campaign spokesman could not immediately say whether Eastwood would play an active role in the campaign.
About 325 people paid as much as $25,000 apiece to attend the event. Eastwood is a part-time resident of Sun Valley.
Geez Clint, Harry Reid will say he got a call
from some movie goer who said you haven’t
paid any taxes in 20 years. You probably won’t
be invited to any of George Clooney’s parties either.
Oh you know it, Clint will get the boot just like Bruce Willis.
The hoity toity in Hollywood will be in an uproar…
I strongly urge Mr. Eastwood to retract his endorsement of Mr. Romney and join me in endorsing Pat Paulsen for president. He is still the better man for the job, even posthumously. If elected, Mr. Paulsen has assured us that he will run for president:)
Clint makes so much money that he needs a Romney tax cut. The rest of us; not so much!
Most people I know that don’t want a tax cut are the ones not paying any taxes and are afraid benefits will be cut.
Look how quickly the Rush Limbaugh and Fox news zombies forgot about Clint supposedly making a liberal Pro Obama statement in that Superbowl commercial. LOL
Always liked Clint. As mayor of Carmel or maybe it was Santa Monica, he understands the role of government and he can see that the BO admin is not right. Their ideology needs to be retired in the next 3 months.
It was Carmel.
I disagree with both you and Clint.
Wow, this news sort of just goes along to help make my day…..
Clint is the man…..
I am waiting to hear from both sides whether I should avoid Netflixing a Clint Eastwood movie, or if I should run out and buy one. I like his movies, but maybe I don’t like his politics, not that it changes how I vote or what I think about issues. Gov Huckabee…help!
Finally a man from the west coast with a brain. Just made my day.
“Eastwood has fathered at least seven children by five women and been described as a “serial womanizer”. He is without doubt except for AAAAhhhrnold one of the stars of the “family values” party. Oh and I forgot he is also a war hero just like Mitt Robme, of course being a movie starlet he was able to get up after each scene was done shooting unlike our real heroes.