Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro is canceling a trip to New York after several companies pulled out of an event where he was to be honored.

Government spokesman Otavio Rego Barros said Friday the far right president had canceled the trip "in the face of the resistance and deliberate attacks by the New York mayor and the pressure of interest groups on the institutions that organize, sponsor and host the event annually."

Bolsonaro has been named 2019 Person of the Year by the Brazil-U.S. Chamber of Commerce and was to appear at a gala in New York in May.

The gala's host, the American Museum of Natural History, withdrew its participation and companies including Delta Air Lines and the Financial Times said they would not attend because of Bolsonaro's planned appearance.