LAS VEGAS — The former president talked about how Asian-American small business owners have contributed to the U.S. economy, how Washington needs to stop playing politics with the issue of immigration, and how his foundation has helped AIDS victims in Cambodia.

President Bill Clinton William (Bill) Jefferson ClintonBattle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight Sunday shows - Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death dominates Bill Clinton on GOP push to fill Ginsburg vacancy: Trump, McConnell 'first value is power' MORE on Friday made a 40-minute sales pitch to a gathering of Asian-American and Pacific Islander (AAPI) leaders about why they should support his wife, Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham ClintonBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Democratic super PAC to hit Trump in battleground states over coronavirus deaths Battle lines drawn on precedent in Supreme Court fight MORE, for president.

During his address here at Caesars Palace hotel and casino, Bill Clinton told more than 2,000 AAPI attendees that he wanted to see their “distinctive needs” addressed by candidates and politicians. But he also said they should elect a president who views AAPIs as an integral piece of the American story.

“You want a president like Hillary who sees you as part and parcel of the American quilt of diversity,” Clinton said.

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Speaking in the same concert hall where Rod Stewart and Celine Dion perform, the “Explainer in Chief” also delved deep into wonky policy issues. He said his wife would push to make it easier for small businesses to take out bank loans, improve the nation’s roads, ports and other infrastructure, increase access to broadband for all Americans by 2020, and boost manufacturing jobs in the U.S.

“They can’t be yesterday’s jobs; they need to be tomorrow’s jobs,” the 42nd president said.

Clinton took part in the largest gathering of Asian-American and Pacific Islanders in the country this cycle. The presidential town hall, hosted by the APIAVote and the Asian American Journalists Association, also featured two other presidential candidates — Libertarian nominee Gary Johnson Gary Earl JohnsonWhat the numbers say about Trump's chances at reelection Presidential race tightens in Minnesota as Trump plows resources into state The Hill's Campaign Report: Biden condemns violence, blames Trump for fomenting it l Bitter Mass. primaries reach the end l Super PAC spending set to explode MORE and Green Party nominee Jill Stein — as well as a surrogate from GOP nominee Donald Trump Donald John TrumpBiden leads Trump by 36 points nationally among Latinos: poll Trump dismisses climate change role in fires, says Newsom needs to manage forest better Jimmy Kimmel hits Trump for rallies while hosting Emmy Awards MORE’s campaign, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, who is Filipino American.

Neither Hillary Clinton nor Trump attended the town hall. But the fact that a former president and two presidential candidates spoke to the gathering is further evidence of the growing influence of the AAPI electorate.

Here in the swing state of Nevada, Asian-Americans and Pacific Islanders make up about 10 percent of the voting population, a large enough bloc to sway the outcome of a close election. AAPI numbers are also increasing in other swing states like North Carolina and Virginia.

“This is historic. We’ve never had that kind of attention provided by any of the presidential campaigns before, to have such high levels surrogates engage in our community,” said Christine Chen, executive director of APIAVote, a nonpartisan group aimed at increasing voter turnout among AAPIs. “It’s an indication that 2016 is on track to be the largest mobilization effort in the AAPI community of any election cycle.”

When a song by the Black Eyed Peas began to play, signaling it was time for Clinton to leave the stage, the former president decided he wasn’t ready and took one more question.

A veteran reporter asked why voters should trust Hillary Clinton when she lied about her email controversy, prompting a fiery response from Bill Clinton. He insisted that his wife never had received classified information on her private email system and pushed back on the notion that she had jeopardized national security.

"First of all, the FBI director said when he testified before Congress, he had to amend his previous day's statement that she had never received any emails marked classified,” Clinton said. “They saw two little notes with a 'C' on it -- this is the biggest load of bull I've ever heard -- that were about telephone calls that she needed to make.

“And the State Department typically puts a little ‘C’ on it to discourage people from discussing it in public in the event the secretary of State, whoever it is, doesn’t make the telephone call,” he continued. “Does that sound like a national security threat to you?”