No, I am not.
They were more than just lively...so a yes or no answer wasn’t necessary,
Then why did Pilate ask the question?
he had made his claim already
Not to Pilate.
and clearly to Pilate face to face...”It is as you say”...
No. He said "That is what YOU say." If he had said "it is as you say," Pilate would have gone back to the Jews and let them know that their charges were confirmed. But he didn't.
Pilate must have been politically astute because he agreed to post a Roman guard at the tomb, at Caiaphas's request.
The name given to Mary for her coming son was Emmanuel, which is to say 'God (the El part) with us.' And with the lesson Jesus gave Philip as recorded in John fourteen, Jesus confirmed to Philip that He was God with them to the limits of their ability to sense The Father Almighty.
Therefore Pilate entered 'again' into the Praetorium, and summoned Jesus and said to Him,..
“Are You the King of the Jews?” Jesus answered, “Are you saying this on your own initiative, or did others tell you about Me?”... Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I?... Your own nation and the chief priests delivered You to me; what have You done?” ..... Jesus answered, “My kingdom is not of this world. If My kingdom were of this world, then My servants would be fighting so that I would not be handed over to the Jews; but as it is, My kingdom is not of this realm.”
.. Therefore Pilate said to Him, “So You are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say correctly that I am a king. For this I have been born, and for this I have come into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”
John 18:28-40 NASB New American Standard Bible