Donald Trump refused to say he would support the next Republican presidential nominee if it was not him, exposing a potential quagmire along the party’s path toward reclaiming the White House in 2024 and showcasing, once again, the former president’s transactional spin on political loyalty.

In a radio interview Thursday, conservative commentator Hugh Hewitt asked Trump if he would support “whoever” wins the party’s nomination next year. Trump announced his third presidential campaign in November and faces a number of potential Republican challengers.

“It would depend,” Trump said. “It would have to depend on who the nominee was.”

The hesitation from Trump differed from many of the Republican Party’s top officials and most prominent activists. Several of Trump’s critics inside the party, including Sen. Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, the minority leader, have repeatedly said they planned to back the GOP nominee, even if that person is not their top choice.

Minutes before Trump’s interview Thursday, Larry Hogan, a Republican who is the former Maryland governor and a consistent Trump antagonist, said on the same radio program that he would back the Republican nominee.

The frequent explanation for partisan loyalty like Hogan’s is that winning a national election in a country increasingly divided between Republicans and Democrats is nearly impossible without a completely unified party.