Ledger was my introduction to the network's block of opinion programming, as his hour-long show is spent taking aim at liberal lawmakers and policies.
I had read about Ledger's bombastic broadcast style, in which he flatly dismisses issues like climate change, decries a "fascist left radical ideology," and claims the United States is "the least racist nation."
Those claims can be shocking to some on paper, and I am wary of reading bits of a report without context. However, when I tuned in, Ledger was already revving up to deliver more definitive takes.
"Phony partisan impeachment inquiry driven by the Democrat caucus in the House of Representatives is unconstitutional and it is in violation," Ledger said in a recent episode.
Ledger was, of course, referring to the legitimately elected Democratic majority in the House. He echoed a point White House counsel member Pat Cipollone made in a letter to lawmakers slamming the inquiry as "baseless, unconstitutional." This was widely dismissed as a fiery distraction tactic on behalf of the president, but Ledger stated it as fact.
Ledger then presented the story of a Virginia teacher who said he was fired for not using a student's preferred pronouns and lamented what he called the "pronoun hell our culture is being pulled down into." As he spoke, the banners flashed "embracing Judeo-Christian values" and "Constitutional concerns."
It's easy to imagine how Ledger's show, with his claims of "constitutional travesty" and critiques of "radical" people and the "fascist Left," would be pleasing to Trump, serving him good headlines or certain issues that could light the fire behind his next tweet.
The president shortly thereafter delivered on that hypothesis, quoting Ledger by name and doubling down on the host's "Constitutional Travesty" claim in a tweet, adding that it was "the likes of which we have never seen before. It is Adam Schiff and Nancy Pelosi who should be impeached for fraud!"
Way before the hour timeslot was up, the show left me feeling angry and suspicious that almost every person in a position of power was trying to suppress my freedom.
Ledger's sign-off left me scratching my head when he told the audience, in what could serve as an ironclad boost of his credibility after an hour of bombastic claims, to remember that "Even when I'm wrong, I'm right."