diff --git a/Makefile b/Makefile
index e8a1a1b7..4eead448 100644
--- a/Makefile
+++ b/Makefile
@@ -11,7 +11,7 @@ UNAME=$(shell uname)
 
 ifeq ($(UNAME),Darwin)
   # If the user wasn't explicit, see if SDL2 library exists
-  ifeq ($(SDL_MODE),)
+  ifeq ($(strip $(SDL_MODE)),"")
     SDL_CHECK=$(shell pkg-config --exists sdl2)
     ifeq ($(SDL_CHECK),0)
       SDL_MODE = dylib