It seems half the country's political figures have been instructed to grin like a theme-park greeter. Supposedly, that makes them seem friendly, approachable, relatable.

When I want humanoid patter, I turn to chatbots. They're more convincing.

Why this epidemic of wax museum smiles? One reason, certainly, is social media, where every sour look gets amplified. No politician wants to get caught with his grin down.

The forced smiles of President Donald Trump's economic advisers really don't work. As they're pressed about grim economic news, their jolly best-is-yet-to-come demeanor is painful to watch.

A CNBC anchor tells Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick what everyone knows: The private sector is losing jobs. Would he care to comment? Lutnick's voice is pure Coney Island barker. (His forced smile recalls the weird grin of Tillie, the amusement park's cartoon face.)

"Next year, the numbers are going to be fantastic!" Lutnick exclaims. "I think you're gonna see GDP next year superb! Over 4%!"

National Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett on Fox News is asked about polls showing Americans most unhappy about the economy. Face frozen in pure delight, Hassett blames Joe Biden, then turns to gaslighting. What the public thinks it sees isn't happening, he insists. Wages are rising faster than inflation.

"Pardon me for interrupting," the anchor said, "but the numbers we looked at show that inflation is still higher than wage growth." Hassett's smile didn't crack.

The king of the fossilized grin must be New York's new mayor Zohran Mamdani. His look of unbridled joy lit up many adorable TikToks. In one, he emerges from the icy Atlantic waters in suit and tie, grinning as he promises to "freeze" rents.

Mamdani wisely adopted a neutral face on announcing plans to end the sweep of homeless encampments. Three years ago, Mayor Eric Adams ordered the New York Police Department to start the removal of the sidewalk camps with their stretches of damp cardboard, garbage piles, drug markets and menacing addicts.

The homeless commonly suffer a constellation of mental problems, and many prefer risking the cold streets to a shelter. Mamdani's sunny view is that his social workers can convince these disturbed souls that he has a better offer without specifying what that may be. As it happens, the Adams administration had been pairing police with social workers, in part for the social workers' safety.

"The quality of life of the city will go backwards again," retired NYPD Chief of Patrol John Chell said.

One thing that brought smiles to some longtime New Yorkers alarmed at this proposal was a darkly funny tweet from a Mamdani critic at the Manhattan Institute. "The troubled can live on the free buses," Nicole Gelinas wrote.

Just imagine how well Democrats might have done in Tennessee's 7th Congressional District race had their candidate not been Aftyn Behn. Her plastered smile bordered on the deranged, which only underscored the lunacy of her past statements: Behn had said that she "hates Nashville," a city she was to represent. She couldn't stand country music. And she suggested abolishing the local police force.

This is a district that last voted for Trump by 22 percentage points. Growing discontent with Republican Washington was such that Behn's opponent, Matt Van Epps, won by only about 9 percentage points. Think of the political earthquake Democrats could have set off with a serious contender.

All this frantic smiling is branding, not emotion. Or as Nietzsche might have put it, "Man learned to smile only after he learned to hide himself."

Politicians, drop your Joker smiles. They're most unpleasant.

Follow Froma Harrop on Twitter @FromaHarrop. She can be reached at fharrop@gmail.com. To find out more about Froma Harrop and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators webpage at www.creators.com.

Photo credit: Hermes Rivera at Unsplash