compare two strings in bash if statement

i am trying to make an if statement in a bash script:

    file_exists=$(psql -h $DB_SERVER -U $DB_USER -d $DB_DATABASE -t -c "SELECT source_file FROM $DB_SCHEMA.cj_metadata WHERE source_file LIKE '%$base%';" | grep "$base")
    
    
    echo "FILE EXISTS: $file_exists $base.jsonl"

    # Check if the file exists
    if [[ "$file_exists" == "$base.jsonl" ]]; then
        echo "File $base.jsonl is already saved in DB. Exiting function."
        echo "SELECT source_file FROM cjdb.cj_metadata WHERE source_file = '$base.jsonl';"
        return
    fi

the issue i am having is, that it never goes in the if statement, even if both values are the same:

FILE EXISTS:  LoD2_326625712.jsonl LoD2_326625712.jsonl

what am i doing wrong here? Why is this if statement not working?

thanks a lot!

>Solution :

FILE EXISTS:  LoD2_326625712.jsonl LoD2_326625712.jsonl

Before the first LoD2_326625712.jsonl, there are two space.

echo "FILE EXISTS: $file_exists $base.jsonl"

Before $file_exists, there is only one space.
So I think there is one extra space before $file_exists