diff --git a/src/cli/components/AssistantMessageRich.tsx b/src/cli/components/AssistantMessageRich.tsx
index 0715b60..4a5c160 100644
--- a/src/cli/components/AssistantMessageRich.tsx
+++ b/src/cli/components/AssistantMessageRich.tsx
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ import { MarkdownDisplay } from "./MarkdownDisplay.js";
 import { Text } from "./Text";
 
 // Helper function to normalize text - copied from old codebase
+// NOTE: Less aggressive than before to preserve spacing when content is split across chunks
 const normalize = (s: string) =>
   s
     .replace(/\r\n/g, "\n")
-    .replace(/[ \t]+$/gm, "")
     .replace(/\n{3,}/g, "\n\n")
-    .replace(/^\n+|\n+$/g, "");
+    .replace(/^\n+/g, ""); // Only trim leading newlines, preserve trailing ones
 
 type AssistantLine = {
   kind: "assistant";
diff --git a/src/cli/components/ReasoningMessageRich.tsx b/src/cli/components/ReasoningMessageRich.tsx
index 1c9d78f..84bfa1c 100644
--- a/src/cli/components/ReasoningMessageRich.tsx
+++ b/src/cli/components/ReasoningMessageRich.tsx
@@ -5,12 +5,12 @@ import { MarkdownDisplay } from "./MarkdownDisplay.js";
 import { Text } from "./Text";
 
 // Helper function to normalize text - copied from old codebase
+// NOTE: Less aggressive than before to preserve spacing when content is split across chunks
 const normalize = (s: string) =>
   s
     .replace(/\r\n/g, "\n")
-    .replace(/[ \t]+$/gm, "")
     .replace(/\n{3,}/g, "\n\n")
-    .replace(/^\n+|\n+$/g, "");
+    .replace(/^\n+/g, ""); // Only trim leading newlines, preserve trailing ones
 
 type ReasoningLine = {
   kind: "reasoning";