Remember how well Kathy Griffin’s little “prank” where she symbolically decapitated the President went over? Oh, man. What a hoot. She’s a real cut-up, isn’t she? (Er… sorry.) Rather than being embraced by the Left in a unified block, nearly everyone turned on her and declared that we didn’t need that sort of thing in our national discussion. Even CNN cut her loose, and corporate sponsors quickly moved away from any projects with her name associated with it. Well now we may have the next example of this phenomenon. A performing arts group known as The Public Theater, based in Manhattan, has been putting on a performance of Julius Caesar in Central Park. But this one comes with a twist. Caesar is Donald Trump and other members of his family and staff make up the other characters. Since you know how things ended for Caesar in the play I don’t have to fill in the details for you.

The result? Once again, rather than howls of laughter and support from the Left side of the world, major corporate sponsors immediately pulled the plug. (Associated Press)

Delta Air Lines and Bank of America have announced that they are pulling their sponsorship of a Manhattan-based theater company’s portrayal of Julius Caesar as a Donald Trump look-alike in a business suit who gets knifed to death on stage.

Atlanta-based Delta released a statement on Sunday saying it was pulling its sponsorship from The Public Theater “effective immediately.”

“No matter what your political stance may be, the graphic staging of Julius Caesar at this summer’s Free Shakespeare in the Park does not reflect Delta Air Lines’ values,” the statement said. “Their artistic and creative direction crossed the line on the standards of good taste.”

Later Sunday night, Charlotte, North Carolina-based Bank of America said it was withdrawing its funding for the production.

This doesn’t mean that The Public Theater is being shut down. (They aren’t even returning calls requesting comment.) The government isn’t going after them and there is no free speech issue to be debated. The company is free to continue putting on their performances and anyone who wishes to be subjected to this sort of violent pornography is welcome to attend.

But the rapidity with which two corporate entities the size of Delta and Bank of America cut ties with them speaks volumes. This is a matter of capitalism, not politics. Ironically, it was probably Kathy Griffin who set the stage (pardon the pun) for this response. Major private companies rely on the good graces of the public to remain solvent. Being a sponsor of something so clearly abhorrent to the majority of the country is simply bad for business, hence the exit.

So is this a sign of some measure of sanity returning to America’s political discourse? Probably not. The virulent attacks on the President will no doubt continue as long as he remains in office, particularly in cable news and the major newspapers, as well as among protesters who continue to clog the highways around the nation every weekend. But if nothing else, Griffin may have at least sketched out where the line is. Hate President Trump all you like for whatever laundry list of crimes you care to ascribe to him, real or imagined. Carry signs in the streets and attack the institution of the presidency. But assassination porn which graphically depicts bloody, horrific violence is apparently one bridge too far. (Well, not for everyone on the Left, but for enough of them to count.)

One closing thought on the subject of protests. Did you notice that the sponsors in this case pulled out before anyone else had time to react? There was no need for a boycott to force them into action. Just something to ponder for all of you boycott-happy street warriors out there.