Anthony Weiner's wife and longtime Hillary Clinton aide Huma Abedin has been given an ultimatum: either dump her sexting husband, or step off the Clinton train.

'Huma has a choice to make,' a close associate told New York magazine , 'does she go with Anthony, or does she go with Hillary?'

Abedin has been Hillary's most trusted aide for over two decades, and the stark question has taken on added urgency as the former Secretary of State contemplates a 2016 run for the White House.

The Clinton camp reportedly watched with shock as Weiner's mayoral run imploded this summer, driven by reports he'd maintained his secret online sexting habit under the pseudonym Carlos Danger even after resigning from Congress for the same reason in 2011.

After the revelations Abedin was advised to advised to stay out of the limelight and she vanished from Weiner’s side for the rest of his campaign.

Meanwhile it emerged that Weiner had traded photos and conducted sex chats with at least three women until one of them, Sydney Leathers, came forward with the details.

Abedin initially took Weiner's side, but pressure from the Clinton camp reportedly stopped her campaigning for him.

According to the New York Post she didn’t accompany her husband to the polls on election day, instead keeping a low profile with friends in the Hamptons as Weiner's campign ended abruptly.

'Abedin has struggled to reconcile her marriage to Weiner with her role as Clinton’s top aide, traumatized by the prospect of leaving her boss' inner circle,' a source said.

Asked if she wrestles with running for president, Hillary told New York Magazine: 'I do. But I’m both pragmatic and realistic. I think I have a pretty good idea of the political and governmental challenges that are facing our leaders, and I’ll do whatever I can from whatever position I find myself in to advocate for the values and the policies I think are right for the country.

'I will just continue to weigh what the factors are that would influence me making a decision one way or the other,' she said.

Longtime observers are in no doubt about her trajectory, however.

'She’s running, but she doesn’t know it yet,' a source said. 'It’s just like a force of history. It’s inexorable, it’s gravitational. I think she actually believes she has more say in it than she actually does.'