"trim(status description)" did not work for me. Originally the cell contents had html tags as shown below. I used the "Read content as html" format option, but the tags did not go away. Then I used the "Read content as hyperlink" option and the tags disappeared. However, I got white spaces like I showed above.
Project ID | Status Description |
100 | <p>This project will increase sales by $1.2 M. It will also help increase profit by $0.2 M</p> |
101 | <p>This project will increase sales by $1.5 M. It will also help increase profit by $0.5 M</p> |
102 | <p>This project will increase sales by $2.2 M. It will also help increase profit by $1.2 M </p> |
Some cells have other html tags as well besides <p>.