It is clear that Trump is still trying to cover for Russia. In addition, he has now accepted the Russian propaganda that it was Ukraine (not Russia) that interfered in the 2016 election. He thinks he can justify his actions with Ukraine by accusing them of the interference, and make his election seem more proper (because a country tried to stop him instead of helping him).
It's not working. The public knows Trump is not honest and trustworthy, and they don't believe his lies about Russia and Ukraine. Instead, majorities believe the American intelligence agencies on 2016 interference. About 58% say Russia interfered (with 28% saying they did not), and 53% say Ukraine did not interfere (with 23% saying they did). It seems obvious that only the hardcore trumpistas are believing Trump (the ones that would support him no matter what he did).
These charts reflect the results of the latest Economist / YouGov Poll -- done between December 28th and 31st of a national sample of 1,123 registered voters, with a 3.1 point margin of error.
