okay, lets jump over to chapter 32 in Exodus...
We have the people waiting on Moses to come back down the mountain,
Exd 32:1 And when the people saw that Moses delayed to come down out of the mount, the people gathered themselves together unto Aaron, and said unto him, Up, make us gods, which shall go before us; for [as for] this Moses, the man that brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we wot not what is become of him. In this verse we should be able to grasp the people's thinking and reasoning...

To them it was Moses that lead them out...
Exd 32:7 And the LORD said unto Moses, Go, get thee down; for thy people, which thou broughtest out of the land of Egypt, have corrupted [themselves]: 
Seems God is agreeing and acknowledging what the people are believing and thinking...

Also note worthy is what God told Moses about the people...
have corrupted [themselves]