Is it normal for presidential nominees to politically advocate for the president?

I'll be honest, I really didn't pay attention to any of the Biden nominees; So I don't know if it was the same with Biden.

But with the Trump nominees, I've noticed that almost all of them sound like politicians on campaign. They will not directly answer any question that might make Trump look bad. They pivot and deflect just like a politician on campaign would do.

EG - Kash Patel bringing up a Biden pardon when asked about individuals pardoned for 1/6 already committing violent crimes.

Ostensibly, aren't people in these roles at least supposed to try to be non partisan? Like isn't partisanship supposed to be a bad thing whenever it's an appointed position instead of an elected position?