Mayors are uniquely positioned to help the United States rise above divisive tribalism since the last global financial crisis that uprooted social and economic arrangements, former President Bill Clinton told the U.S. Conference of Mayors 85th annual meeting on Saturday.

Being closer to the people they represent means mayors are less likely to engage in political rhetoric, Clinton said, and more likely to understand immigrants are half as likely to commit crimes and Muslim Americans commit murder at one-third the national average.

City officials are also less likely to "stretch the limits of acceptable use of power," he said.

"Diverse groups make better decisions than lone geniuses," Clinton said, perhaps a subtle jab at President Trump, who's called himself "a smart person" and tweeted "my I.Q. is one of the highest."

Calling cities the "laboratories of democracy," Clinton outlined several challenges they must face: the opioid epidemic, climate change, aging infrastructure and inequality.