Fox Business Network has ‘parted ways’ with primetime anchor Trish Regan days after she was removed from the airwaves for saying that the coronavirus outbreak was a ‘scam’ invented as a way to ‘impeach’ President Trump.
‘Fox Business has parted ways with Trish Regan – we thank her for her contributions to the network over the years and wish her continued success in her future endeavors,’ the network said in a statement.
‘We will continue our reduced live primetime schedule for the foreseeable future in an effort to allocate staff resources to continuous breaking news coverage on the Coronavirus crisis.’
The network also released a statement on Regan’s behalf, saying: ‘I have enjoyed my time at FOX and now intend to focus on my family during these troubled times.
‘I am grateful to my incredible team at FOX Business and for the many opportunities the network has provided me.
Trish Regan (seen above during her February 28 broadcast on the Fox Business Network from a studio in New York City) has 'parted ways' with the company, it was announced on Friday
During her March 9 broadcast, Regan accused Democrats and the media of fabricating a 'scam' in order to 'impeach' President Trump
‘I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my career.’
Regan’s departure is a stunning fall for a television personality who had a primetime nightly show on FBN for years.
FBN is the sister network of the Fox News Channel, the cable news powerhouse owned by Rupert Murdoch and run by his son, CEO Lachlan Murdoch.
On her March 9 broadcast, as news of the spread of the coronavirus in the United States began to dominate headlines, Regan, 47, used her monologue to rip into Democrats and the media.
She accused them of drumming up panic over the pandemic in order to criticize Trump and tank the economy so as to hurt his re-election chances.
As the graphic next to her on screen read ‘CORONAVIRUS IMPEACHMENT SCAM,’ Regan hit out at the ‘hate being leveled at the president’ from ‘the left.’
‘We reached a tipping point,’ Regan said during her monologue.
‘The chorus of hate being leveled at the president is nearing a crescendo as the Democrats blame him and only him for a virus that originated halfway around the world.’
She continued: ‘And sadly it seems they care very little for the destruction they are leaving in their wake.
‘Losses in the stock market, all this, unfortunately, part of the political casualties for them.
‘This is the time to be united… Not to be encouraging hate.’
FBN's sister channel, Fox News Channel, was criticized after some of its commentators and primetime hosts, including Sean Hannity (left) and Laura Ingraham (right), were accused of downplaying the seriousness of the coronavirus outbreak
Regan added: ‘We see the absolute opposite from the left tonight… The hate is boiling over.
‘Many in the liberal media using coronavirus in an attempt to demonize and destroy the president.’
After playing several clips of cable news pundits who criticized Trump for his administration’s handling of the outbreak, Regan accused Democrats of whipping up ‘mass hysteria.’
‘I see. This is impeachment all over again… They don’t care who they hurt,’ she said.
‘Whether it be their need to create mass hysteria to encourage a market sell-off, unlike anything we have seen recently or to be to create mass hysteria to stop our economy dead in its tracks.’
She then added: ‘They told us how much they crave a recession as a way to get rid of Donald Trump.
‘This is impeachment all over again, complete with a whistleblower to complain about our health and human services committee, right.’
Regan’s commentary, which came as more coronavirus cases were being reported and a greater number of Americans were dying, sparked outrage.
The sharp backlash prompted Fox Business to announce on March 13 that Trish Regan Primetime would be put on hiatus.
During what turned out to be her final broadcast on Fox Business on that Friday, Regan struck a much more somber tone.
'Our path forward right now is together, the left and the right united to fight this crisis,' Regan told viewers.
'We’re all in this together, and we need to stay safe.'
At the time, the network justified its decision by citing ‘the demands of the evolving pandemic crisis coverage.’
Regan’s show and the program which follows it at 9pm Eastern time, Kennedy, were taken off the air.
On March 19, Kennedy, whose full name is Lisa Kennedy Montgomery, tweeted that she expects her show to return ‘before you know it.’
After Regan’s show was placed on hiatus, there was a noticeable shift in tone from the major personalities and hosts at Fox News Network, whose primetime lineup is solidly pro-Trump.
After Regan's show was put on hiatus, Fox News hosts began to take coronavirus more seriously. Fox Chairman Rupert Murdoch (right) is seen with his son, Fox Corporation CEO Lachlan Murdoch (left)
In late February and early March, as news of the spread of the coronavirus was limited to stories about the mounting toll abroad, Fox hosts, including Sean Hannity and Laura Ingraham, raised doubts about the motives of those calling for more stringent measures to stop its spread in this country.
On the same day that Regan went on her rant, Hannity told his audience that political opponents of Trump were using the coronavirus to ‘bludgeon him with this new hoax.’
‘They’re scaring the living hell out of people and I see it again as like, “Oh, let’s bludgeon Trump with this new hoax”,’ Hannity said at the time.
Days later, however, Hannity said: ‘This program has always taken the coronavirus seriously and we’ve never called the virus a hoax.’
Trump is known to listen carefully to what Fox News hosts and commentators say.
The president also accused Democrats of a 'hoax' in playing up the dangers of coronavirus, only to then shift to a more somber tone days later.
One Fox News primetime star who reportedly urged Trump to take coronavirus more seriously was Tucker Carlson.
On his March 9 broadcast, Carlson said: ‘Our country is likely to experience a painful period we are powerless to stop.
‘None of this is justification to panic. You shouldn’t panic.
‘In crisis, it’s more important than ever to be calm.
‘But staying calm is not the same as remaining complacent.
‘It does not mean assuring people that everything will be fine. We don’t know that.
‘Instead, it’s better to tell the truth. That is always the surest sign of strength.’
Carlson reportedly warned Trump about the seriousness of the pandemic during a face-to-face encounter at the president’s Mar-a-Lago club in early March.
During that weekend, Trump hosted Brazil’s president, Jair Bolsonaro, and his delegation, several of whose members ended up testing positive for coronavirus.
Bolsonaro has denied testing positive, but Brazilians have demanded he release the results publicly, something the president has refused to do.
Trump claims he, too, tested negative for the virus.
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