Democratic former congressman Anthony Weiner, who resigned in disgrace amid a sexting scandal, said on Tuesday he would come out of political retirement to thwart a potential mayoral bid by Republican Donald Trump Jr. and would beat him "like a rented mule."

Mr Trump Jr., the son of Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, has been floated as a possible challenger to Democratic Mayor Bill de Blasio in 2017 since his well-received speech in support of his father at the Republican National Convention last week in Cleveland.

Mr Weiner, who's attending his party's national convention in Philadelphia, was asked about the rumoured Trump Jr. candidacy, and the cocksure former congressman playfully suggested he would end his political exile to take on the son of the equally brash Mr Trump, a billionaire real estate mogul.