As her bosses in Washington struggle to exert even modest influence over the events in Cairo, Ms. Patterson, 63, has been portrayed as a sinister force by pro- and antigovernment protesters alike: a defender of the status quo as well as a troublemaker who schemes with the opposition.

“She’s being lambasted because she’s the face of America,” said Vali Nasr, a former State Department official who worked with Ms. Patterson when she was ambassador to Pakistan. “But the fact that she’s being excoriated instead of the president only represents the fact that the rest of the American administration is absent.”…

Ms. Patterson’s problems started on June 18 when she was invited, at a time of mushrooming demonstrations against Mr. Morsi’s government, to speak to an audience in Cairo about the United States’ relationship with the Muslim Brotherhood. It was, she said, a welcome chance to “set the record straight.”

While the United States supported Egypt’s democratic development, it still had to deal with those in power, Ms. Patterson said, adding, “I don’t think the elected nature of this government is seriously in doubt.” Moreover, she said she was “deeply skeptical” that “street action will produce better results than elections.”