Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida on Thursday averted saying straight that he would endorse Donald J. Trump in 2024 ought to the previous president win the Republican nomination, displaying his reluctance to make a benign present of assist for the person who is thrashing him by a large margin in nationwide polls and insulting him almost day-after-day.

Asked by a reporter at a news convention in Tampa about whether or not he would endorse Mr. Trump, the governor responded by complaining that Mr. Trump had recently criticized his insurance policies through the coronavirus pandemic. Mr. DeSantis famous specifically that his rival had in contrast him unfavorably to New York’s former governor, Andrew M. Cuomo, a Democrat.

“So what I would say is this: When you are saying that Cuomo did better on Covid than Florida did, you are revealing yourself to just be full of it,” Mr. DeSantis stated. “Nobody believes that.”

“I remember in 2020 and 2021, when he was praising Florida for being open, saying we did it much better than New York and Michigan and everyone was coming to Florida and that we were one of the great governors in the United States,” he continued, his voice rising. “And he used to say that all the time. Now, all of a sudden, his tune is changing. And I would just tell people, do you find it credible? Do you honestly find it credible?”

Mr. Trump himself has not pledged to back the party’s nominee in 2024 if a rival defeats him within the primaries, underscoring the extent of division within the Republican subject. Mr. Trump’s federal indictment has led among the different candidates to more openly criticize him, questioning his judgment. But Mr. Trump, who frequently calls Mr. DeSantis “Ron DeSanctimonious” and accuses him of needing a “personality transplant,” retains the assist of many Republican voters.

At the tip of his reply, Mr. DeSantis, who’s trailing Mr. Trump by roughly 30 proportion factors in nationwide polls as extra candidates soar into the race, turned to acknowledge the significance of the nominating contest.

“It’s an important process and, you know, you respect the process and you respect the people’s decisions how this goes,” he stated. “But I’m very confident that those decisions are going to be positive for us.”

On social media, Mr. Trump’s allies shortly pounced on Mr. DeSantis’s refusal to pledge loyalty to his rival if he falls quick.

“Ron DeSantis just proved once again why he’s a Never Trumper in the mold of Liz Cheney and Jeb Bush, completely disqualifying him for 2024, as well as 2028,” Steven Cheung, a spokesman for the Trump marketing campaign, stated in an announcement.

But Mr. Trump, in fact, has taken the same stance.

“It would depend,” Mr. Trump said in a radio interview earlier this 12 months when requested if he would assist “whoever” received the occasion’s nomination. He added, “It would have to depend on who the nominee was.”

Republicans have typically shown far more grace to Mr. Trump than to his rivals, chastising these difficult the previous president for sentiments much like ones he has additionally expressed.

The Republican National Committee has stated that candidates must promise to support the occasion’s eventual nominee in the event that they wish to take part in debates.

Later on Thursday, at a marketing campaign occasion in South Carolina, Mr. DeSantis appeared to backtrack barely, interrupting a reporter who requested why he had appeared to keep away from committing to assist Mr. Trump.

“I didn’t avoid, no, I was misquoted,” Mr. DeSantis shot again. “Here’s what I said, I said: ‘You run this process. You compete and you respect the outcome of the process.’ And I’ve always said that. And so that’s what I said before. That’s what I’ll do. I think I’m going to be the nominee. No matter what happens, I’m going to work to beat Joe Biden.”

Voters on the South Carolina occasion stated they hoped Mr. DeSantis and different Republican candidates would again Mr. Trump, ought to the previous president be the nominee.

“I think everybody should unite, whoever gets the nomination,” stated Shawn Risseeuw, 57, a mechanical engineer who lives in North Augusta, S.C., and described himself as a robust DeSantis supporter. “They’re fools if they don’t.”