Trish Regan, the Fox Business presenter who said the coronavirus was a plot to impeach Donald Trump, has left the network.

She had already been removed from her prime-time slot after telling viewers that the Democrats were trying to engineer a “mass hysteria to encourage a market sell-off” and wanted “to demonize and destroy the president” in “another attempt to impeach” him.

She said: “We’ve reached a tipping point. The chorus of hate being levelled at the president is nearing a crescendo as Democrats blame him, and only him, for a virus that originated halfway around the world.”

Regan was one of several Fox journalists to talk down the significance of the coronavirus at a time when Democrats were criticising Mr Trump for his slow reaction of the impending pandemic.

The president himself called Democrats’ warnings a “hoax” and claimed that the number of people affected would soon be down from 15 to “close to zero”. He also claimed that it would disappear like a “miracle” when the weather got warmer.

Cases have continued to rise, however, and on Thursday the United States became the nation with the world’s highest number of cases.

On Friday Fox issued a statement saying Regan had left the network.

It said: “We thank her for her contributions to the network over the years and wish her continued success in her future endeavours.

“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.”

Regan, 47, said: “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. I’m looking forward to this next chapter in my career.”