A GOP candidate running for Michigan’s House of Representatives said during a Facebook Live broadcast that he tells his daughters to “lie back and enjoy” rape if it’s “inevitable.”
Robert “RJ” Regan, who won the GOP special primary in the state’s 74th district last week, was discussing how to decertify the 2020 presidential election during a Facebook Live broadcast for the Republican group Rescue Michigan Coalition on Sunday when he made the comment.
“Having three daughters, I tell my daughters, ‘Well, if rape is inevitable, you should just lie back and enjoy it,’” Regan said roughly 10 minutes into the broadcast. “That’s not how we roll, that’s not how we won this election.”
“That was a shameful comment,” attendee Amber Harris said in response.
Host Adam de Angeli then joked that the show might not stream “for much longer after what Robert said.”
De Angeli also defended Regan later on the same broadcast, telling a commenter that Regan was describing what “you should not do.”
Regan did not respond to multiple requests for comment from HuffPost.
Regan, who won his primary by just 81 votes, lost that same race in 2020 after a viral tweet from his own daughter told people not to vote for her dad, Fox 17 noted.
“If you’re in michigan and 18+ pls for the love of god do not vote for my dad for state rep. tell everyone,” Stephanie Regan tweeted at the time.
During Sunday’s Facebook Live event, Regan also defended Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose forces are currently invading Ukraine.
“Putin said, ‘I have to protect my country, I have to protect my children, and I can’t count on the United States,’” Regan said.
“So what he did was took some proactive action, he went into Ukraine, knocked out the bio labs, knocked out the missile sites, so he can protect his people,” the candidate added, likely referring to a QAnon conspiracy theory about bioweapons.
That’s not what Putin did. Instead, he launched a full-scale invasion of Ukraine, where Russian forces have bombed civilians and have been attempting to capture the country’s capital city, Kyiv.
Republican Tori Sachs of the Michigan Freedom Fund condemned Regan in a statement to Fox 17.
“RJ Regan’s disgusting and dehumanizing comments on the horror of sexual assault along with his support of murderous dictator Vladimir Putin are despicable and completely disqualify him from holding public office,” Sachs said. “I teach my four young daughters to stand up for themselves, to know their worth, and to fight back and speak out against creeps like Regan. RJ Regan doesn’t belong anywhere near the state Capitol, and that is why we endorsed and supported his opponent.”
Regan will now face Carol Glanville, a Democrat, in the special election for the seat on May 3.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.