On the May 21 edition of MSNBC's Jim Cramer Live, while discussing former President Jimmy Carter's criticism of President Bush, host Jim Cramer asked: “Who does he play for, Carter? Does he play for himself? Does he play for another nation? Does he play for his own fifth column?” According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, a “fifth column” is a “clandestine group or faction of subversive agents who attempt to undermine a nation's solidarity by any means at their disposal.”

Cramer was referring to an exchange involving Carter and the White House over the weekend, which began when the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette published an article on May 19, quoting Carter as having said, during a telephone interview with the paper, “I think as far as the adverse impact on the nation around the world, this administration has been the worst in history.” The next day, the White House responded by reportedly calling Carter “increasingly irrelevant.”

On Jim Cramer Live, MSNBC Live anchor Amy Robach asserted: “I ... think it's funny that Jimmy Carter, of all people, is telling people who the worst president in history is. If he could recall -- maybe I don't know -- was that threat -- or that was leveled against him as well, correct?” Earlier, during the news wrap, Robach had said of the exchange, "[T]his is probably going to be my favorite story of the day." Co-host Willie Geist said that Carter “wants to be the greatest ex-president of all time ... because he wasn't the greatest president of all time -- clearly, maybe the worst.” Responding to Cramer's question as to “who” Carter “play[s] for,” Geist asserted, “I think he'd tell you he plays for us. A lot of people would disagree.”

From the May 21 edition of MSNBC's Jim Cramer Live:

ROBACH: And I think this is probably going to be my favorite story of the day. Former President Jimmy Carter, leveling some scathing accusations at President Bush, and the White House is firing right back.

In an interview with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, Carter described the Bush administration as “the worst in history” in terms of international relations and accused the president of overseeing an overt reversal in America's basic values.

Well, the White House issued a biting rebuke, calling Carter's comments “reckless” and describing him as “increasingly irrelevant” in modern politics.

[...]

CRAMER: OK, Amy, let's understand this: “increasingly irrelevant” is what -- no, that's actually not a bad thing --

ROBACH: Ouch!

CRAMER: -- in the sense that they could've really just slammed the joker but they chose not to, right? They just --

ROBACH: I also think it's funny that Jimmy Carter, of all people, is telling people who the worst president in history is. If he could recall -- maybe, I don't know -- did -- was that threat -- or that was leveled against him as well, correct?

GEIST: Yeah, he's looking for a successor, I think. He wants somebody to fill his shoes.

ROBACH: He's giving the tiara --

GEIST: Exactly.

ROBACH: -- to President Bush.

GEIST: Exactly.

CRAMER: Who does he play for, Carter? Does he play for himself? Does he play for another nation? Does he play for his own fifth column? Who is he speaking for?

ROBACH: He's working on his legacy, I don't know.

GEIST: Yeah, legacy. He wants to be the greatest ex-president of all time --

ROBACH: Right.

GEIST: -- because he wasn't the greatest president of all time -- clearly, maybe the worst. He wants to be the greatest ex-president of all time.

I think he'd tell you he plays for us. A lot of people would disagree, but he's doing -- you can't really argue, he's doing good out in the world, but the question is, does that contradict our foreign policy and that's -- those are a lot of the questions that are being thrown out there.