Ben Carson 'Out of Here' If Republican Leaders Engage in Backroom Deals

— -- Republican presidential candidate Ben Carson doubled down today on his threat to leave the party if GOP leaders try to manipulate the nomination process with "back room deals."

Carson said today on ABC's "This Week" he entered the race because he heard from voters who were frustrated by "back room deals of subterfuge and dishonesty." He said he would be "out of here" if those types of deals remained.

Carson said he has spoken to Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus since a closed-door meeting of party leaders in Washington, D.C., last week.

“He told me those are team meetings and they have them all the time and that this was no different than all the others," Carson told George Stephanopoulos. "But the jury's out. We will certainly be keeping a close eye on things."

The retired neurosurgeon has said he would not consider running as an Independent. When asked if that means he would drop out of the race for the Republican nomination, Carson told ABC News on Friday he would "leave that up to you to speculate."

“I have no intention of running as an Independent, but I certainly don’t want to be part of corruption,” Carson said.