Clint Eastwood has praised Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump for being “on to something”.

The actor/director stopped short of endorsing Donald Trump, but in an interview in Esquire magazine he hailed Trump as a foe of political correctness and lamented what he called “the kiss-ass generation”.

Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks during a campaign town hall at Ocean Center(Evan Vucci/AP)

Clint said: “Everybody’s walking on eggshells. We see people accusing people of being racist and all kinds of stuff. When I grew up, those things weren’t called racist.”

The actor, 86, delighted the internet in 2012 when he spoke at the Republican national convention and appeared to speak to an empty chair.

lint Eastwood looking toward an empty chair as he addresses the Republican National Convention(Charles Dharapak/AP)

On accusations The Donald is racist, Clint urged people to “get over it”.

“What Trump is onto is he’s just saying what’s on his mind. And sometimes it’s not so good. And sometimes it’s… I mean, I can understand where he’s coming from, but I don’t always agree with it,” he said.

He said he wasn’t endorsing anyone for president but asked to choose between Trump and Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton he said: “I’d have to go for Trump, ’cause she’s declared that she’s gonna follow in Obama’s footsteps. There’s been just too much funny business on both sides of the aisle.”