Clint Eastwood speaks at the Republican National Convention on August 30, 2012 in Tampa, Florida.
It was one of the most baffling and iconic moments of the 2012 election: Clint Eastwood talking to an empty chair during his primetime speech at last summer’s Republican National Convention. The legendary 82-year-old movie star and director (and, lest we forget, former mayor of Carmel, Calif.) had the idea to turn his address into an imaginary, and sometimes incomprehensible, conversation with President Barack Obama. The event prompted an Internet meme, #Eastwooding, a hilarious Stephen Colbert routine and this tweet from the Commander in Chief.
(MORE: How Eastwood Conceived His Speech)
But whatever happened to the chair? It’s ended up winging its way from Florida to the Washington D.C. office of RNC chairman Reince Priebus. CNN appears to have the scoop.
[T]he chair Clint Eastwood used as a prop in his rambling and at times incoherent critique of President Barack Obama at the Republican National Convention is now one of the many pieces of political memorabilia in Reince Priebus’ office on 1st Street in Washington.
The chairman of the Republican National Committee gets the joke. It’s the first thing he points out to a reporter before sitting down behind his desk to discuss how his party must dramatically rethink its strategy and message in hopes of recovering from the presidential drubbing of 2012.
While it’s reassuring to learn that Priebus has a sense of humor, the CNN article also makes clear that he has a considerable job on his hands to help the Republicans get back on their feet after losing the recent election. At least he’ll have Eastwood’s chair to make his day.
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