Gothamist

A non-profit newsroom, powered by WNYC.

Gothamist

WNYC Listen Live

Donate

 

 

Arts & Entertainment

America Embraces A New Meme: Eastwooding


By

Jen Carlson

Published Aug 31, 2012

Modified Aug 31, 2012


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


Never miss a story

 Email address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .


By

Jen Carlson

Published Aug 31, 2012

Modified Aug 31, 2012


Share

FacebookTwitterRedditEmail


We rely on your support to make local news available to all

Make your contribution now and help Gothamist thrive in 2026. Donate today

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations

Gothamist's own Ben Yakas demonstrates Eastwooding

grandpaeastwooding0812.jpg
via Alex Ogle

Even if you didn't see it, you know by now that Clint Eastwood used most of his time on stage last night at the RNC getting back to his acting roots by talking to an invisible President Obama, who in this scenario was sitting on an empty chair next to him. And with that, he bestowed upon the nation the next great meme: Eastwooding. Like planking and Horsemaning before it, it's sure to be short-lived, so let's oversaturate the internet with it before the window closes.

Almost immediately after his speech, new Twitter accounts were born (Clint's Empty Chair and InvisibleObama), and people started uploading their own photos featuring empty chairs with the hashtag #Eastwooding. But we can do better, America... by 1 a.m. Buzzfeed, the king of culling the internet for this kind of thing, only had ten photos, and (not to be an alarmist) none of them were animated GIFS. So, keep Eastwooding, nation... even the President himself has acknowledged the trend:

This seat's taken. OFA.BO/c2gbfi, twitter.com/BarackObama/st…

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) August 31, 2012

Cats have also been Eastwooding:

animaleastwooding.jpg
via Anthea and Rita Kiser

And dogs!:

dogeastwooding.jpg
via ZaraTV and Colin Dickey

And Clint Eastwood was Eastwooding before any of y'all... even before last night:

You guys, the warning signs were there on the set of his last movie... #eastwooding twitter.com/JoeMuto/status…

— Joe Muto (@JoeMuto) August 31, 2012

Tagged

clint eastwood

eastwooding

empty chair

invisible obama

meme

RNC

original


Jen Carlson

Jen Carlson is a former WNYC and Gothamist editor.

Read more

Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations


MORE arts-entertainment

Inside a photographer's journey to visit every neighborhood in New York City

What do you see when you record the whole of the boroughs?

By

Sonia Rao

Published Oct 5, 2026


Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries

It's a busy month at the branches.

By

Alec Hamilton

Arts & Entertainment

Banned books and Winnie the Pooh: October in NYC libraries

It's a busy month at the branches.

By

Alec Hamilton


NYC music in October: The Strokes, a Blink-182 cover band, and Polish experimentalism

By

Hank Shteamer

Are you a New Yorker? The Department of New Yorker Verification will now decide.

By

Hannah Frishberg

In the mood for a pastoral autumn experience? Try Queens.

By

Elizabeth Shwe

and

James Ramsay


Never miss a story

Catch up on the most important headlines with a roundup of essential NYC stories, delivered to your inbox daily.

Sign upEmail address

By submitting your information, you're agreeing to receive communications from New York Public Radio in accordance with our Terms .