SACRAMENTO, California – Clint Eastwood is not too upset that his friend, California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, no longer wants him on the state parks commission, the Los Angeles Times reports.
The actor says he joked about it with Bobby Shriver, the governor's brother-in-law, who was also terminated.
"I talked to him the day we were not reappointed, or as Donald Trump would say, 'You're fired,'" Eastwood said in an interview, according to the Times. "So we laughed about it," Eastwood said, "and I said, 'Me? But you're his brother-in-law!' and he said, 'But you're his friend and longtime mentor!' "
The governor has said that he decided not to reappoint the men, who were first named to the Park and Recreation Commission in 2001 by then-Gov. Gray Davis and reappointed by Schwarzenegger in 2004. He said their terms had expired and he wanted to give others a chance to serve.
But Eastwood and Shriver have attributed the governor's move to their opposition to a plan to build the Foothill South toll road through San Onofre State Beach, a park in Orange County that is popular for its surfing and scenery. The project was defeated by the California Coastal Commission in February.
"I think it was just somebody got a bee under their bonnet at the right moment, so there we are," Eastwood said. Of the governor, he added: "I guess he felt we were going to be guys who were going to be obstructionists for anything through state parks."
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