Washington DC - For his first televised interview since his disastrous debate showing, Joe Biden has chosen ABC News veteran George Stephanopoulos to conduct a conversation that could decide the president's future.

The pick is no surprise given Stephanopoulos' resume as a longtime Democratic-leaning political journalist who was once a key White House advisor to Bill Clinton.

The stakes of the interview, scheduled to take place Friday, could not be higher, as Biden seeks to prove he can win the election despite slipping poll numbers and growing concern for his mental acuity at age 81.

Known for his polite but probing style, Stephanopoulos (63) has interviewed many heads of state, including Barack Obama, Russian President Vladimir Putin, and former Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

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The focus of the interview will undoubtedly be Biden's health after the president's debate against Donald Trump, in which Biden lost his train of thought several times, stumbled over words and syntax, and spoke incoherently.

Trump, who earlier this year filed a defamation lawsuit against ABC and Stephanopoulos, alleged that his interview with Biden was going to be "a cut-up promotion with only his few coherent answers released to the public."

Referring to him as "Slopadopoulos," Trump on Thursday called the journalist a "tiny, angry man" and "the meanest and most vicious interviewer out there."