A rendition of Julius Caesar that features the assassination of a President Trump-like character opened to a standing ovation and cheers in New York City.

The New York Public Theater has faced widespread outrage over the bloody and graphic stabbing of a character that was meant to resemble the president — from his blonde hair to an exceptionally long necktie.

The headlines generated by the Shakespeare in the Park production have been relentless:

• “Controversial ‘Julius Caesar’ Play Opens to Standing Ovation in Central Park”

• “Senators Stab Trump to Death in Central Park Performance of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar”

• “Theater Refuses to Buckle after ‘Caesar’ Trump Criticism”

Theater executive Oskar Eustis defended the violent, faux assassination of the sitting president.

“The event here is not my show. The event here is the right-wing hate machine,” he told Variety.

The New York Times reports that Eustis tried to reassure theater supporters in an email, acknowledging the play has “provoked heated discussion.”

“Our production of Julius Caesar in no way advocates violence toward anyone,” he said.

That’s a bit hard to believe when the audience is staring at the bloody corpse of an actor with a big necktie.

The show has been getting rave reviews from the people who play make-believe for a living. And I’m sure Kathy Griffin is laughing her head off.

This is how The New York Times reviewed the show: “Its depiction of a petulant, blondish Caesar in a blue suit, complete with gold bathtub and a pouty Slavic wife, takes onstage Trump-trolling to a startling new level.”

Anyway, the fallout over staged assassination of President Trump has been swift. Delta Airlines and Bank of America have withdrawn sponsorship. Both companies said the play crossed a line.

I say good for them! I fly Delta and cash my paycheck at Bank of America. And they are under no obligation to fund what is in fact a steaming pile of thespian garbage.

The New York Times, on the other hand, is standing by its sponsorship.

“As an institution that believes in free speech for the arts as well as the media, we support the right of the Public Theater to stage the production as they chose,” the Times said in a statement.

But the newspaper sang a different tune back in 2015 when it refused to print cartoons that depicted the Prophet Muhammad.

And I sincerely doubt the Times or any other mainstream media outlet would be so charitable if the New York thespians had plunged a dagger into President Obama.

And It’s THAT sort of dastardly double standard we’ve come to expect from the Times and its theatrical ilk.

They are best described by the Bard as the “rankest compound of villainous smell that ever offended a nostril.”