Gov. Gary Herbert says President Donald Trump last week commiserated with him over the discovery of cancerous skin on the Utah leader’s face, mentioning that he’d had “the same problem.”
Herbert briefly described the interaction to a crowd of people in Provo on Wednesday in response to a question about his position on the “anti-Trump conspiracy.” The Republican governor visited the White House last week during a trip to Washington, D.C., and while there spoke with Vice President Mike Pence and Trump.
During the interaction, the president reportedly inquired about a medical procedure Herbert recently underwent to remove cancerous skin just below his eye.
“He said, ‘By the way, I have the same problem, same eye,’” Herbert recounted. “And he looked at me and he said, ‘Gary, I can tell it’s gonna be fine. It’s gonna be great. You’re gonna be OK.’”
Herbert's spokeswoman declined to comment any further on the encounter since it was part of a private conversation.
The Utah governor first spoke publicly about his skin condition in late April at a ceremonial bill signing and groundbreaking for a new school, where he appeared wearing a bandage. He encouraged the children present to wear sunscreen.
White House officials did not respond Wednesday to a request for comment about Herbert’s remarks.
Trump, 72, has bragged about his health, stamina and “great genes,” and his doctor in February gave him a clean bill of health, although the president had tipped into obesity after gaining four pounds, The Washington Post reported. The president’s physician didn’t mention a skin condition following the recent medical evaluation.
Former White House aide Omarosa Manigault Newman wrote in her tell-all book last year that Trump uses a tanning bed every morning.
Herbert’s comments on the president came during a panel discussion sponsored by the Utah Eagle Forum. The Utah governor said he generally appreciates Trump administration policies.
“I like what he does. I sometimes don’t like what he says and how he says it,” Herbert said.
