Maeve McDermott

USATODAY

Even though Joel McHale didn't say Donald Trump's name in his People's Choice Awards monologue, everyone knew who he was referencing.

McHale, the show's host for the evening, didn't linger too long on politics in his opening spiel. But with the inauguration several days away, he briefly referenced current events, joking that the People's Choice Awards were "the one night of the year where Hollywood reacts positively to what the middle of the country thinks."

2017 People's Choice Awards winners

"2016 was a very interesting year," he said. "We all watched as a longtime government insider squared off against an egotistical billionaire. I'm speaking, of course, about Captain America: Civil War."

If his analogy stands, Hillary Clinton is Captain America and Donald Trump is Tony Stark — make of that what you will.

Taking the stage to accept the award for Favorite Action Movie Actor, Robert Downey Jr. didn't directly reference McHale's comments about his Iron Man character. But he did make it clear he's no oligarch, declaring, "Power to the people, stick it to the man!"

See more from the People's Choice Awards below.