Hi. I rather suspected it was a setup, but wasn’t sure enough to commit to that opinion, myself:)
1)Hillary! has Gerry make comment they both KNOW is forbidden to say but true. No career pol EVER pipes up like that out of the blue.
2)Hillary! is "agast" and makes a high minded rebuke of Gerry to look like she is taking the high road.
3)The issue is now front and center, benefiting Hillary! but without her fingerprints on it.
4)Gerry resigns as pre-agreed but keeps talking smack, refusing to back down and keeping the issue alive for days, again as pre-planned.