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Clint Eastwood ‘Surprised’ by Reaction to Chrysler's ‘Halftime in America’ Ad

Published: Friday, 10 Feb 2012 | 11:02 AM ET

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By: Phil LeBeau
CNBC Correspondent

Clint Eastwood
Source: Chrysler
Clint Eastwood during Super Bowl XLVI's Chrysler commercial

Less than a week after the Chrysler “Halftime in America” ad ran during the Super Bowl, Clint Eastwood is surprised by the reaction to the ad.

His blunt comments are worth listening to.

“I’m surprised that people that are supposed to be intelligent have interpreted it (the ad) otherwise,” Eastwood said when asked about the backlash from people who thought the ad was endorsing the auto bailouts. He added, “No one was endorsing any bailouts or anything like that. That was all supposition. All somebody daydreaming out there.”

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, Eastwood says the Chrysler ad is not about the auto bailouts. And yet, there are many people who don’t buy it.

After the Eastwood interview ran on Squawk Box I got comments on Twitter @lebeaucarnews blasting the actor.

One person sent me a tweet saying, “I guess that MOST of us out there are pretty damn stupid then!”

Another tweet said “Clint Eastwood is delusional and irrelevant.”

And that’s just the start.

The bottom line is this; those who think the auto bailouts were wrong are not going to change their minds and that’s fine. It’s easy to see why Uncle Sam’s role in structuring the bankruptcies and reorganizations of GM and Chrysler still bothers a lot of people. Even Eastwood has said on many occasions that he was against the auto bailouts.

But he says it’s time for everyone to get over it. He added, “We gotta forget whether the bailouts were right or wrong.”

His advice makes sense, but somehow I doubt the critics of the Chrysler ad will listen to Eastwood.