diff --git a/src/expand.cpp b/src/expand.cpp
index 141d4158f..8fb8fc662 100644
--- a/src/expand.cpp
+++ b/src/expand.cpp
@@ -949,7 +949,6 @@ static expand_error_t expand_braces(const wcstring &instr, expand_flags_t flags,
             whole_item.append(in, length_preceding_braces);
             whole_item.append(item.begin(), item.end());
             whole_item.append(brace_end + 1);
-            whole_item = trim(whole_item, (const wchar_t[]) { BRACE_SPACE });
             expand_braces(whole_item, flags, out, errors);
 
             item_begin = pos + 1;