diff --git a/wp-includes/formatting.php b/wp-includes/formatting.php
index d031656d43..9159ae4c69 100644
--- a/wp-includes/formatting.php
+++ b/wp-includes/formatting.php
@@ -3808,7 +3808,7 @@ function human_time_diff( $from, $to = 0 ) {
 function wp_trim_excerpt( $text = '', $post = null ) {
 	$raw_excerpt = $text;
 
-	if ( '' === $text ) {
+	if ( '' === trim( $text ) ) {
 		$post = get_post( $post );
 		$text = get_the_content( '', false, $post );
 
diff --git a/wp-includes/version.php b/wp-includes/version.php
index 52473d45c7..4d1bfea97a 100644
--- a/wp-includes/version.php
+++ b/wp-includes/version.php
@@ -13,7 +13,7 @@
  *
  * @global string $wp_version
  */
-$wp_version = '5.6-alpha-48816';
+$wp_version = '5.6-alpha-48817';
 
 /**
  * Holds the WordPress DB revision, increments when changes are made to the WordPress DB schema.