(AFP) – 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.
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.
Born to a Greek family in Massachusetts, Stephanopoulos grew up in Cleveland, Ohio, where both of his parents worked in the American Greek Orthodox Church.
After graduating near the top of his class with a degree in political science from Columbia University in New York, Stephanopoulos moved to Washington to work as a congressional aide.
His first foray into electoral politics was joining the 1988 presidential campaign for Michael Dukakis, the Massachusetts governor.
Though Dukakis lost the election to George H.W. Bush, Stephanopoulos’ next presidential campaign took him straight to the White House.
As Clinton’s communications director, Stephanopoulos became one of the president’s senior advisors for his first term in office.
After four years in the executive branch, however, Stephanopoulos stepped down from his post, later citing the pressure of the role.
For the next phase of his career, Stephanopoulos found success as a political pundit for ABC News. He now appears on two of the network’s flagship programs, the morning show “Good Morning America” and the Sunday talk show “This Week.” Stephanopoulos married actress Ali Wentworth in 2001 after meeting her on a blind date. They have two daughters together.
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 “a tiny, angry man,” and “the meanest and most vicious interviewer out there.” – Sébastien BLANC
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