DonKnock
KPJ Gonna Save Us
Don't know if you're being sarcastic, but that's the exact opposite of deading it. That's escalating it to a win-lose situation.
Why would he address a he said-she said smear report before it was put into public attention? Do you know what the Streisand effect is?
You would have to be under the impression that he was actively telling Warren not to run in private if you think he should have "deaded it" behind closed doors when nothing less than the exact opposite had been how he had discussed Warren's own campaign.