Clint gives 'weird' speech at Republican convention

Clint Eastwood's speech at the annual Republican National Convention has been met with mixed reviews, with New York magazine saying it was 'like watching someone mumble in their sleep'.

Screen legend Eastwood was announced as a supporter of Republican candidate Mitt Romney's campaign earlier this month.

Eastwood conducted his speech by addressing an empty chair placed next to him on stage as if it contained the president, and at times seemed to be rambling leading some commentators to suggest he had nothing prepared.

[Related story: Clint returns to acting in 'Trouble With The Curve']

One exchange with the invisible president went: "So, Mr. President, how do you handle promises that you have made when you were running for election, and how do you handle them? I mean, what do you say to people? Do you just... you know... I know... people were wondering... you don't... handle that OK."

A statement released after the performance from Romney's campaign said that Clint's 'ad libbing was a break from all the political speeches, and the crowd enjoyed it'.

But not everyone enjoyed it, and he was quickly lambasted by political and cultural commentators.

MSNBC's Rachel Maddow said: “That was the weirdest thing I've ever seen at a political convention in my entire life, and it will be the weirdest thing I've ever seen if I live to be 100.”

Piers Morgan, employed by CNN in the US, said that he had been getting messages from people saying Clint had 'gone crackers'.

“I love Clint Eastwood,” he added. “But I just felt a little bit embarrassed for him. I think he's been a disaster.”

Some did enjoy it, however, magician Penn Jillette saying: “If you said to me, Clint Eastwood wants to be on stage - let him do what he wants. This doesn't reflect on Mitt Romney. It's just beautiful, wild, goofy and crazy,” while Republican actor Jon Voight called it 'tremendous'.

Obama quickly responded to the speech via his Twitter account, posting a picture of himself in the president's chair, with the caption, 'this seat's taken'.

What did you make of Clint's antics? Let us know below...