Hosni Mubarak served as the autocratic president of Egypt for 30 years, succeeding the assassinated Anwar Sadat.
When Mubarak said he intended that his son, Gamel, would be his successor, massive protests, facilitated by communication using Facebook and Twitter, exploded throughout Egypt during January and February, 2011. Egypt’s military forced him to transfer power to the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces and to resign during February, 2011.
Mubarak’s ouster enabled the Muslim Brotherhood to participate openly in Egyptian politics, forming the Freedom and Justice Party. During April, 2012, the Freedom and Justice Party selected Mohamed Morsi as its candidate for president of Egypt. Morsi was elected President of Egypt in a runoff election on July 16 and 17, and sworn in on June 30.
When his term as President began, Morsi was subordinate to the interim military government of the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces. He worked at establishing his authority, including revoking a constitutional declaration by the Armed Forces of June 17. He declared his authority as president would not be subject to any form of judicial oversight until a permanent constitution was in effect. The decree also removed the courts’ power to dissolve the Constituent Assembly, a 100-member body responsible for drafting a new constitution.
Mass demonstrations were held against what was viewed as a seizure of dictatorial powers.
On November 30, the Constituent Assembly approved a draft constitution written without the input of boycotting Christian and secular members. The draft constitution was approved by voters and became effective late December, 2012.
Morsi rescinded parts of his constitutional decree but retained the article preventing the courts from dissolving the Constituent Assembly.
Morsi declared martial law on December 9.
Declining economic conditions, deteriorating public services, and a string of sectarian incidents intensified political polarization and strengthened opposition to Morsi’s rule. Clashes between Morsi’s supporters and critics in late June, 2013 culminated in massive anti-Morsi protests on June 30, 2013.
On July 1, the head of the Egyptian Armed Forces, General Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, issued an ultimatum, declaring the military was ready to intervene to prevent chaos in the country. Morsi offered to negotiate with the opposition, but refused to step down.
On July 3, the military suspended the constitution and removed Morsi from the presidency, about a year after he assumed the position.
The Muslim Brotherhood was formally outlawed in September, 2013.
Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, resigned from the military and was elected president of Egypt during 2014.
Morsi faced trials for several offenses, including inciting Muslim Brotherhood supporters to kill demonstrators who participated in an anti-Morsi protest in 2012 and having colluded with foreign groups, including Hamas, Hezbollah and Iran’s Revolutionary Guards. Morsi refused to recognize the legitimacy of the proceedings against him and insisted he remained the president of Egypt. He died in prison on June 17, 2019 while his trials were being appealed.
The military has much more political power in Egypt than in the United States. It’s highly unlikely we could see a military removal of a President of the United States. President Trump has fired high-ranking military officers who aren’t loyal to him.
Our impeachment and trial process to remove a President has never been successfully used.
The 25th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution provides the procedures for replacing the President or Vice President of the United States in case of death, removal, resignation or incapacitation. That amendment has only been invoked to replace the Vice President when Spiro Agnew resigned as Vice President, then to name Gerald Ford’s replacement as Vice President when Richard Nixon resigned, and occasionally for the Vice President to assume presidential duties when a President was indisposed, such as being anesthetized for surgery.
In order for Congress to successfully declare a president “disabled,” two-thirds of the representatives in each chamber must conclude that he “is unable” to perform the duties of the office. Doing this seems highly unlikely with the current Republican majorities in Congress.
“No” is a powerful word, especially when groups of people say it together. In the United States, we have a tradition of protest to initiate social change, such as Dr. Martin Luther King’s March on Washington, demonstrations for womens’ rights and the protests against the Viet Nam war. Participating in such protests and communicating to promote them using social media is a way to communicate your disagreement with current policies, possibly leading to change.
Even when fascist powers overtook Europe during World War II, people found ways to resist, often at great personal risk.
One of the reasons President Trump is taking such quick action is he doesn’t have much time to assert power. The mid-term election will take place in 2026. If U.S. citizens still have the power to vote, it’s possible they will send a strong “no” message and flip Congress. Remember the majority in the House of Representatives was “flipped” to Democrats in the 2018 midterm election.
