For instance, I have an aunt who is definitely MAGA, and is flirting with Q-Anon ideas. However, she has pretty good views on the environment and animal rights. For instance, after travelling to Ecuador, she donates to some Ecuadorian land trust run by locals. However, if you start talking to her about the border or gender, she goes full Orbán.
I think you’ve got it. I don’t think many conservatives actually care enough to be coherent. They know something’s wrong, but all they’ve ever known is whiteness, apple pie, patriotism, that whole slurry of stuff. The last time they thought about civics was elementary school where they got the racist hagiography of George Washington. So that’s where they start as their framework.
Especially with older relatives, they also have years and years of capitalist propaganda, furthering division and blurring the lines between “good guys” and “bad guys”.