Gorsuch isn’t devious but our boy Trump is the Grandmaster of Trollers and I wouldn’t put it past him. I always keep in mind that he knows every trick that the WWE uses to gin up an audience, and it looks to me like he figured out long ago that the elite press are no smarter than the ringside seats at Lucha Libre on a Saturday night.
But as you say we don’t know if or what Gorsuch even said.
OTOH....I doubt that Trump told him to say this; that's NOT his style, nor did he know what questions would be asked, nor by whom.
Now IF ( big IF ), Gorsuch DID say what is claimed, then I don't trust him at all and suspect that he'd just be yet another damned GOP Justice who is worthless.