'World domination... that sort of stuff': 18-year-old Ted Cruz outlines his ambitions in 1988 home movie

He faces a tough battle to fight off his competitors in his bid to reach the White House.  

But if Ted Cruz is anything like he was at 18, confidence won't be a problem. 

In a bizarre home video unearthed from 1988, then-college student Cruz is seen smirking as he describes his life ambitions. 

'Take over the world, world domination...rich, powerful, that sort of stuff,' he chuckles while sitting on the edge of an idyllic water fountain at Second Baptist School in Houston, Texas.

The short clip, posted on YouTube by user Young Ted Cruz, starts with 18-year-old Cruz laughing at his own sarcastic jokes.

In a bizarre home video unearthed from 1988, then-college student Cruz smirks as he describes his ambitions

Cruz (pictured on Saturday in Iowa with his daughter) faces a tough battle to fight off his competitors in his bid to reach the White House. But if he is anything like he was at 18, confidence won't be a problem

He is asked what his aspirations are. 

'Aspirations? Is that like sweat on my butt?' Cruz says, then smirks.

He continues: 'No no, oh I see, what you want me to do, what I want to do in life.

'Well my aspiration is to, uh, oh I don't know, be in a teen t*t film - like that guy who played Horatio. You know he was in Malibu Bikini Beach Shop.

'Well, other than that, take over the world, world domination, you know, rule everything. Rich, powerful, that sort of stuff.' 

According to Politico, the video was obtained by one of Cruz's college classmates who wished to remain anonymous.  

The strange video was first reported by Politico earlier this week - just as Cruz's confidence was knocked by news that Donald Trump is surging in the polls in Iowa yet again.

At the beginning of January, Cruz was said to be ahead of his competitors in the crucial state, according to most polls. 

However, in the last two weeks Trump gained 15 points on Cruz. 

Cruz's political career has thus far been based on support from the most conservative tea-party wing of the Republican Party, heralding his bouts both with Democrats and GOP leadership and billing himself as a 'consistent conservative'.

He cherishes his image as an outsider, railing against the 'Washington cartel' and joking that voters should run and hide from any candidate who is liked by those in power.

'Aspirations? Is that like sweat on my butt?' Cruz says, then smirks

He continues: 'No no, oh I see, what you want me to do, what I want to do in life'

'Well... take over the world, world domination, you know, rule everything. Rich, powerful, that sort of stuff'

The strange video emerged earlier this week - just as Cruz's confidence was knocked by news that Donald Trump is surging in the polls in Iowa yet again

When laying out how he sees a Cruz vs. Clinton general election playing out, Cruz uses the failed White House bids of Republicans Bob Dole, John McCain and Mitt Romney to demonstrate why his approach is what is needed to ensure a Republican win.

'What they did didn't work,' Cruz said. 'We've got to do something different.'

On Wednesday, he told reporters he believed establishment Republicans had rejected Sen. Marco Rubio and were coalescing behind Trump, a move he used to rally conservatives, who may view Trump as too liberal, to get behind him.

Cruz's message has resonated with voters in New Hampshire and Iowa.

'I don't like the Republican establishment,' said Dean Behrendsen, a 67-year-old farmer from Gilmore City, Iowa, who saw Cruz speak at a pizza restaurant near there earlier this month. 'What the Republican establishment has done for us is give is President Bob Dole, President John McCain and President Mitt Romney. We're ready, most of us, for a change. Someone who's honest and an outsider.'

Mike Schleusener, a 72-year-old farmer from Marathon, Iowa, agreed with Cruz's argument that Republicans need to turn to someone like him who fights with the establishment.

'I think that's the appeal of somebody like Ted Cruz,' Schleusener said. 'Americans are fed-up with mainstream Republicans.'

But Cruz supporter Bryant Feeney of Hollis, New Hampshire, isn't so sure that Cruz's pitch is the right recipe for a victory in November.

'I don't know that we are ready to have someone who is a core conservative,' Feeney said before a Cruz rally on Wednesday. 'I just don't feel that's where a majority of the nation is. I hope I'm wrong. I'd like to be surprised.'