There's a pretty long tradition of political standup, which is what I take Minhaj's act to be. Lewis Black, Will Durst, Lenny Bruce of course, Mort Sahl (who is said by some to be the first modern standup comic), and Will Rogers all relied on current events and commentary for their routines. This doesn't even touch on the much larger (and mainstream) community of riffers like Vaughn Meader, David Frye, Rich Little, etc.
