“Better to get your news directly from the president,” [Rep. Lamar] Smith said. “In fact, it might be the only way to get the unvarnished truth.” Let that sink in. Now, a pol kissing up to the president is not any big news, but Smith is a very particular kind of pol. He is perhaps the paradigm representative of the tribal approach to epistemology that dominates on the far right today. Tribal epistemology evaluates facts, information, and narratives primarily on whether they are advantageous to the tribe in their war against the opposing tribe (in this case, liberals). Tribal epistemology is inherently hostile to institutions that claim independent authority based on transpartisan norms and standards — the academy, science, and journalism, in particular. They see those institutions as tools of their enemies.
David Roberts, "Donald Trump is the sole reliable source of truth, says chair of House Science Committee"