LOS ANGELES — Hollywood legend Jon Voight has endorsed Republican Donald J. Trump for President of the United States.

In an interview with Breitbart News Tuesday evening, the Oscar-, Emmy-, and Golden Globe-winning actor said: “I’m not someone who’s saying he’s the best of this group. I’m saying I like this guy.”

“He’s an answer to our problems. We need to get behind him. The Republicans need to unite behind this man. We need somebody to go in and reconstruct us in a sort of way, get us back to where we were, who we need to be.”

Voight issued the following statement exclusively to Breitbart News:

It is true that we Americans have been part of Donald Trump’s life for many years. We were part of his weddings. We were there to see all his children’s births. We were part of his great shows: Miss Universe, The Apprentice — and all know, without a doubt, his life has been an open book. I, Jon Voight, can say, without hesitation, that Donald is funny, playful, and colorful, but most of all, he is honest. When he decided to run for president, I know he did it with a true conviction to bring this country back to prosperity. He is the only one who can do it. No frills, no fuss, only candid truths. There are many Republicans fighting to keep him from winning the Republican nomination. You know why? Because he has no bull to sell, and everyone will discover the bull most politicians spew out is for their own causes and benefits. They never dreamed they would be losing control. I am very disappointed at the talk show hosts, also spewing out lies and propaganda against Donald. Why, I wonder? The only thing I can think of is he represents a form of freedom none of them ever saw before, and they are bewildered about it, and frightened about it. I pray all Americans who have seen and felt the meltdown of America with the Obama years, to please fight for Donald Trump. He will not let us down. I pray for all good people to see clearly what faces us now. The right vote will save our nation.

Voight told Breitbart News that he had shared his statement with Trump earlier this week — though he added that Trump “doesn’t seem to need me,” noting that “the people have been much ahead of the so-called experts.”

He added: “They see his quality, and they feel the frustration of having put people into the Senate, and put people into the Congress, whom they expected to be able to stand up against this Obama onslaught against our Constitution, depleting our country in so many ways, in almost every area. And yet no one was able to stand up against him.

“So we need a guy who has the guts to stand up and just say what has to be said … [Americans] see this playing out in front of them, and that’s it.”

Voight also noted that Trump’s ability to maintain a positive attitude even though “he’s got people attacking him from every side” was also a strong argument in his favor.

“It’s not right — as if Trump were the danger to our country. He’s a patriot, and the people are responding because they know it’s exactly what has to happen. Somebody has got to get in there and clean it out — even take the paint off.”

Voight said he was very disappointed in Mitt Romney’s recent attack on Trump in particular: “We felt so great about his family, we put [Romney’s] picture on our refrigerators and so on, and now he turns around and does this, which is so way out of line.

“There are a ton of lies, propaganda, and slander, and its very disturbing. And the American people are saying, ‘Hey, this is nonsense.’

“They are on his side now. And they’re right to be.”

Listen to audio announcing the Voight endorsement on Breitbart Daily News this morning on SiriusXM:

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News. His new e-book, Leadership Secrets of the Kings and Prophets: What the Bible’s Struggles Teach Us About Today, is on sale through Amazon Kindle Direct. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.