See If You Can Follow America’s Schizophrenic Positions on Mohamed Morsy

After a 10-month stint in power, Egyptian President Mohamed Morsy was ousted in a dramatic military coup on Wednesday. For the United States, Morsy and his ruling Muslim Brotherhood party represented a challenge diplomatically: Yes, he was democratically elected, a process the U.S. supports, but he also embraced increasingly authoritarian policies that put him at odds with Egypy’s liberal opposition. As such, the reel of official U.S. statements about Morsi varied greatly over the last several months from him being “a far cry from an autocrat” to someone the U.S. wouldn’t consider an “ally.” Here are some highs and lows:

White House Press Secretary Jay Carney on June 24, 2012: “We look forward to working together with President-elect Morsi and the government he forms, on the basis of mutual respect, to advance the many shared interests between Egypt and the United States.”

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on July 15, 2013. “Egyptians are in the midst of complex negotiations about the transition, from the composition of your Parliament to the writing of a new constitution to the powers of the president,” Clinton said. “I have come to Cairo to reaffirm the strong support of the United States for the Egyptian people and for your democratic transition.”

Defense Secretary Leon Panetta on July 31, 2012: “I was convinced that Morsy is his own man, and he is the president of all of the Egyptian people and that he is truly committed to implementing democratic reforms here in Egypt.”

President Obama on Sept. 13, 2012. “You know, I don’t think that we would consider them an ally but we don’t consider them an enemy.”

Clinton on November 22, 2012. “I want to thank President Morsi for his personal leadership to de-escalate the situation in Gaza and end the violence.”

State Department spokeswoman Victoria Nuland on Nov. 28, 2012: “President Morsi entered into discussions with the judiciary, with other stakeholders in Egypt. That’s a far cry from an autocrat just saying, ‘My way or the highway.'”

Carney on January 15, 2013. “President Morsi should make clear that he respects people of all faiths, and that this type of [anti-semitic] rhetoric is not acceptable or productive in a democratic Egypt.”

U.S. ambassador to Egypt Anne Patterson on May 22, 2013: “It shouldn’t surprise us that the Muslim Brotherhood did well here given its grassroots structure and extremely pious population, as is the case with other countries in the region.”

State Department spokesman Patrick Ventrell on July 1: “He’s the democratically elected leader of Egypt … We urge all parties to ensure that the democratic process and the building of Egypt’s democratic institutions can continue.”

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki on July 3. “It’s important for President Morsy to listen to the Egyptian people and take steps to engage with all sides,” Psaki said, “Unfortunately … He didn’t do that in his speech last night.”

Obama on July 3. “We are deeply concerned by the decision of the Egyptian Armed Forces to remove President Morsy and suspend the Egyptian constitution. I now call on the Egyptian military to move quickly and responsibly to return full authority back to a democratically elected civilian government as soon as possible through an inclusive and transparent process, and to avoid any arbitrary arrests of President Morsy and his supporters. Given today’s developments, I have also directed the relevant departments and agencies to review the implications under U.S. law for our assistance to the Government of Egypt.”

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